


Over Time

by nyeehnyeehmangos



Category: Nothing Much to Do
Genre: F/M, Over Time NMTD (tumblr), lovely little ficlets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-02
Updated: 2015-01-31
Packaged: 2018-03-04 21:08:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 30,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3089834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nyeehnyeehmangos/pseuds/nyeehnyeehmangos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For Lovely Little Ficlets Challenge 2015! Donalduke!</p><p>Hero wants change. Out with the old and in with the new. But the new brings changes she isn't ready for, and it uncovers wounds that she hasn't fully healed. Luckily, there's always a bright side. And this bright side comes as John Donaldson, and he wants change too.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Resolutions

**Author's Note:**

> Don't live in New Zealand, therefore everything I say about time and school things, will be wrong. Just a warning.
> 
> BTW this is for Lovely Little Ficlets and the prompt for today is resolutions.

Hero hates parties. With a burning passion. She never really felt like she ever fit in during parties. She never got drunk, or high. She never danced like crazy, or yelled. Mostly she stuck around the perimeters and watched on as time passed. 

Bea and Ben had left to travel the world a week into the summer after they graduated. This meant that Hero was left to defend herself at Messina High School alone. It left her with Verges, Dogberry, Claudio and John. All were options she didn’t really want to involve herself with.

(Verges and Dogberry weren’t terrible. They were super sweet if you could tolerate them for large amounts of time. And although Hero usually was incredibly patient, she found herself wanting to interrupt them while they talked and just leave. 

Claudio was off-limits. She had forgiven him and John for their actions but hanging out with him was a little too, not Hero. 

John was different. She could tolerate him, mostly. She forgave him and moved on and that was nice but she didn’t want to interact with him on a daily basis.)

At school, she mostly just survived on her own. She didn’t bother making friends; she would be leaving next year anyway. And since she made no friends at school, she had no friends at this party. 

The more she stood around, the more she felt overcome with boredom. And even though she didn’t drink normally, she did tonight. It was New Years, how much harm could be done with one drink?

Or two? Or three?

And now, after three beers, Hero felt a little drunk. She had enough self-control to not embarrass herself in front of everybody. Finding herself, instead, sitting outside on the steps of whosever home this was. 

Her head felt a little swollen but aside from that she felt fine. And from a normal pedestrian walking along the sidewalk, she looked fine as well. But the longer she sat there, the worse she felt. She kept thinking and thinking and thinking. Why was she here? Where exactly was this party? She was leaning against the side of the stairs railing and she didn’t notice that her head was slipping until someone caught her and placed her back on the stairs. 

“Woah there,” a voice said. 

Hero didn’t really know who it was. Her vision was a little bit foggy but it wasn’t too bad. And it took her a while but soon she looked up at the person who helped her and was astonished to find herself staring up at John Donaldson.

John wasn’t doing too well either. Like Hero, he wasn’t a huge fan of parties. But it was better than hanging out with Pedro and the family. So begrudgingly he stayed at this party, planning to go home in the middle of the night when no one was awake. 

He was surprised to find himself sitting next to Hero Duke. When he had left the house, his original plan was to leave and crash someone else’s New Years party. But now, he sat awkwardly next to a slightly drunk Hero as she babbled and talked. 

“What do you think?” Hero questioned, her attention finally turning towards John.

After a moment of silence, Hero’s laugh seemed to echo throughout the street. 

“You weren’t listening were you, John?” Hero smiled and John shook his head slightly embarrassed. “Resolutions,” she stated. “What’s your opinion?”

John sat there silently for a little. “I think that they are goals that last only a week. Then they get tossed aside until the next year.”

Hero smiled and nodded her head slowly. 

“I think you’re mostly right.” 

“What do you mean?” John asked, confused.

“I mean,” she started, her words slurring a tiny bit together. “Yes they are goals that are commonly tossed aside but they give someone the hope of starting over. And with the right motivation and people, maybe they might just be conquered.” 

Silence.

John grinned. This action caught Hero’s attention simply due to the fact that he never smiled. But here in the moonlight, completely tired. He looked kind of handsome.

Of course, that thought lasted a good second before Hero mentally slapped herself. 

“Promise me,” Hero started slowly. “Promise me, you won’t let me toss aside my resolution.”

“What’s your resolution,” John asked.

Inside the house, people start counting down. Their yells could shake the whole neighborhood. But despite the noise, Hero and John lock eyes and didn’t let go.

“7…6…5…4…”

It’s quiet. John barely catches it but he hears it ever so slightly. 

“To be brave”

“3…2…1! Happy New Year!”

Hero looks back towards the house and sees people kissing and she rolls her eyes just enough that John can see. 

“Happy New Year, John,” Hero says before getting up and walking inside.


	2. Birds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter will suck cause I'm doing this while in having writers block but i'm sorry anyway

It was unusual to find Hero on a picnic table skipping class. Which was why John was completely concerned about why she was suddenly here, watching birds. He wasn’t skipping class, he was skipping school altogether. 

“Hero,” he questioned confused.

She didn’t move. She just laid there watching a cardinal that was teasing a bluebird. Hero patted the spot next to her and then looked at John expectantly. After a moment, of awkward staring Hero shook her head as a way of saying nevermind but John eventually laid down next to her, their hands brushing ever so slightly. 

“Look,” she said pointing to the birds. And they watched them for a while, just lying there oh so still. 

John looked at Hero. She managed a small smile, but she wasn’t looking at him, she was looking at everywhere but him, and somehow that made him like her just a little more. 

“Why are you here?” he asked.

Hero rolled her eyes. “Why are you?” she retorted. 

He scoffed, not expecting that answer. But times had changed and he should’ve known.

“Slut,” she whispered.

That caught his attention. 

“That’s what they call me,” she scoffed. “That’s what they still call me”

She ran a palm over her face, rubbing off makeup a little. It was starting to annoy her. 

John never was fully aware of how much Hero had been affected. How much his plan had screwed with her. Screwed with her life. 

“Sor-“ he started to apologize before she cut him off.

“Oh eff off” she yelled at him. “You know Jared Harmon right?”

He nodded.

“So in English, he decided to write that on my binders,” she scoffed. “and folders, and notebooks. All of it”

She shook her head and laughed. But her laugh was a void of nothing. Her voice almost monotone. 

“So I decided to be brave. You know my resolution” she said with disgust. “And so I yelled. Screamed. You would be so proud, Bea would be so proud. But the teacher was not. And so after I had kicked him where the sun don’t shine.” She laughed bitterly. “She kicked me out of the room”

John laughed at her story. She gave him a deathly glare.

“Hero, I am so sorry, but that is priceless.”

She smacked his arm before he broke out laughing and she pushed him off the table. 

And this is how they ended up talking for hours, watching the birds and joking about how idiotic the students in their school are. 

But after Hero had left and John had walked home, there was an odd emptiness that filled her. One filled with hurt and pain that being brave had cost her. She had gained respect from the older students but lost respect from teachers and Hero hated that. She hated the reputation that she was gaining. She hated that the world seemed to beat on her constantly without relenting. 

When she reached her house, she noticed that her parents weren’t home again. And her key wasn’t in her bag. ‘Number 462 on all the things the world does to screw with me’ Hero thought. But it was late and Hero was so tired of waiting that she found herself climbing a tree outside her window and breaking into her own home. 

It took her a total of 42 minutes. 42 agonizing minutes of tearing her dress on her branches, climbing shingles, and breaking into a window only to find herself crying and eating ice cream on the couch five minutes later.

And she was asleep within the next five after that. 

School was interesting the next day. People smiled at her and she returned a half-hearted one back. But she smiled a genuine smile when she found a small necklace with a cardinal charm on it. She turned around trying to figure out who it was from (she already knew though). She caught John’s eye as he went down the hallway and he smirked as she put it on, winking as he passed.


	3. Breakfast

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own the movie/musical Into the Woods I just really love it

The necklace never left her possession. She wore it every day. The bird reminded her of new beginnings and although 2015 had gotten off to a rocky start she was starting to feel better about whom she wanted to be. This was to be Hero Duke, even with her newly founded sarcasm. 

Her Saturdays were spent alone. Leo was usually out seducing some women and her parents had work so she often made her own breakfast and drank her tea in silence. Sometimes if she was up to it, she would blast Taylor Swift and dance around like a maniac, or she would rap along with Eminem if she felt daring enough. But who was she kidding, no one was around on Saturdays. 

She decided on neither Eminem or Taylor Swift but instead she sang along to the soundtrack of Into The Woods. Hitting all the high notes and creeping around her kitchen throwing herself into the music and the acting. It was therapy to her. She got to embody a character and be someone totally different without even leaving her house, without even leaving her kitchen. 

“I wish! It’s not for me it’s for my granny in the woods!” Hero belted. She skipped around her kitchen and stopped only for a moment to decide which tea she wanted, either vanilla caramel chai or raspberry zinger. Raspberry she decided smiling to herself. 

“The way is clear! The light is good! I have no fear nor no one should!” 

She smiled to herself as she cooked her eggs and buttered her toast. 

After she had finished cooking (and singing) she sat down at the counter, aimlessly playing with her necklace as she switched back and forth between eating her food and drinking her tea. 

Tea, she thought to herself. Britain, she thought again. John, she thought once more a smile effortlessly gracing her features. And for that moment, she couldn’t stop smiling. John had taken her by surprise and had easily made himself a staple in her life. She was so thankful that he was her friend. Because without him, Hero was once again all alone. And as fun as the silence was, she had begun to like company. Specifically, John’s company.

 

John’s house was empty too. Ann was gone, and so was his dad. Pedro was away with Balthazar somewhere on this planet, he didn’t care where. It was true that they had forgiven each other, but John still got disapproving glares from Pedro from time to time when Balthazar wasn’t looking. Pedro just made John uneasy and he was thankful that he was anywhere but in his house. 

Cora had invited John over to her house for some epic Harry Potter marathon that was going on, but he had declined. It was too early for Harry Potter. 

He can’t cook. John burnt toast once, but then the toaster caught on fire and he got so scared that he knocked over his cereal and spilled the candy-flavored milk into the pasta sauce that he had on the counter for pizza later. This was yesterday. 

Now, John was currently delicately placing a poptart into the toaster as not to burn down this house. It wasn’t his favorite place but it beat school and anywhere else where he could run into people he didn’t like. And Ann was trying and John appreciated that, he just didn’t know how to respond to that. So this house, was at the very least, important to him.

Turns out, John forgot to hit the on switch of the toaster. But on the bright side, he didn’t burn down the house. Instead of attempting again (because he took the mistake of not turning it on as a sign that if he did it wouldn’t end well) he ate a cold poptart on the couch and turned on the TV.

To his luck, nothing remotely interesting was on and John (as restless as ever) decided to walk somewhere that wasn’t here. In his house. 

He ended up in a small park, the same one that he and Hero spent time at the day before. He still had a poptart in his hand and was eating it so slowly that it was a good thing that it was cold. Suddenly, a cardinal landed on the table he was eating at. It looked remarkably similar to the one he was observing with Hero yesterday. 

“Hey buddy,” John greeted smiling a little as the cardinal grew an inch closer. 

John tore off the crusts of his poptarts and threw them towards the bird, who ate them all up. He watched the bird as it happily ate the crusts when he started to think about the girl who introduced him to this fine bird.

He smirked to himself when he remembered her sassy comebacks and her ease at pushing him off the table when he stopped suddenly, frightened at the idea of liking an evil Hero.

But, he reminded himself, she’s not evil. She’s just, not as nice.

However, even then, even after his reminders he still could not help but think that she would be nicer if only he didn’t screw with her life. Inadvertently, but screwing with her life still. And soon after he arrived, John left the park, angry at himself for ever hurting a girl as innocent as her.

 

Soon enough, both of them had turned up in the same spot, at the hill where the group had hung out after everything was solved. 

Hero had arrived there first. She wanted to do something special for herself and did so by making her own version of a picnic. Complete with chocolate salad, sugar cookies, thermoses filled with lemonade and/or tea and chips as well as cheese doodles. She also brought a classic red gingham picnic blanket and laid that down before lying down on top of it.

“Mind if I join you,” she heard a voice ask.

“Mind if I ask you who you are?” she responded, not bothering to look up.

She knew who it was. Who else would ask to join her? John smirked before settling down next to her, resuming the positions that they had claimed yesterday. 

They didn’t say anything, but when the rain started to fall and Hero just started to dance they didn’t say anything either. John just watched as Hero took the blanket out from under him and plunged herself off the edge of the hill like they did with the cardboard. Except John didn’t expect this and he ran after Hero scared of what would happen.

“Hero?” he yelled his voice laced with concern.

He spotted her rolling down the hill laughing. 

“This is fun,” she laughed. “You should try it.”

John ran down to where Hero was lying on the grass.

“Don’t do that. It scares me completely.”

“Live a little,” she teased.

They looked out into the horizon and Hero laughed sarcastically.

“What?” John questioned.

“This is so cliché and just like every stupid rom-com out there,” she stated. 

Before John could respond, Hero had started to walk up the hill and pack up her picnic. Even from the top of the hill several meters away, he could tell she was angry.

“Why?” Hero screamed. She was directed towards John but he knew that she wasn’t strictly yelling at him. “Why do it do that? Sabotage the things I like. I love rom-coms and sappy movies but I can’t seem to get through a damn romance movie without feeling awkward and out of place.”

She let out a frustrated scream before sulking to the ground. And all John could do was watch.

“Hero,” he pleaded trying to get her to look at him. 

“You broke me,” she whispered ever so softly. “I know you didn’t mean to but gosh, could’ve fooled me.”

John backed away, hurt.

“Oh my gosh,” Hero said, covering her mouth in shock. “John. I…”

But she couldn’t form a sentence. He deserved a sentence. And she couldn’t give one to him. 

Hero gathered up her things and started to turn away.

“I gotta go” she mumbled and John nodded silently. Before she left she handed John a small cookie. “I’m sorry” she said before leaving.

John stood there. He never thought she would explode over something so indifferent to him. And he didn’t realize until now how broken she might be because her façade that she put on to the world, was so familiar that it never occurred to him how she actually broken she might be.


	4. Introduction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Anne of Green Gables. 
> 
> (BTW if you're looking for a new webseries try GreenGablesFables on Youtube)

John had gone radio silent. Hero couldn’t blame him. She wanted to, really badly, just because it was John and she felt like she could but she knew that she was in the wrong. She knew that she had crossed a line, one that maybe they should’ve crossed in the first place. Maybe if they had confronted the past first, Hero’s outburst wouldn’t have hurt him so much. But that’s a hypothetical. It’s not real. Real is the fact that John and Hero had hid from the past. Now they were paying the consequences. 

A week and a half went by. Hero had seen John around, walking down the hallways and learning in class but she didn’t have the courage to apologize or even say hi. Be brave, her resolution mocked. And she tried to be brave. She really did. It just never felt like enough.

Lunch was filled with quiet alone time and small sandwiches while reading classic books. As per usual. Except lunch wasn’t completely filled with quiet time. Halfway through her lunch, a person had stripped her book from her hands and plopped down across from her with a smirk.

“Hey,” Hero protested. “That’s my book-” she paused out of shock. “Oh, hey Cora.”

Cora smiled. It looked like she was plotting something; her smile resembled one of a Disney Villain, but it was just her smile. Still, it made Hero feel uneasy. 

“Hero,” Cora greeted. 

There was a pause of awkward silence before either of them spoke up. 

“What brings you to my little corner of the world?” Hero smiled. She leaned a little closer, her eyes narrowing a bit. 

Cora smirked at the revelation of Hero’s new attitude. It was subtle, but you could tell it was there if you paid enough attention. It was snarky, challenging, and Cora admired her talent of being that way without losing her niceness.

“A little birdy told me you were friends with John,” Cora told Hero, simply. She leaned back nonchalantly and flipped through Hero’s book.

“I don’t think that statement applies now,” Hero muttered under her breath. “Who told you?” she asked, her voice a little louder now. 

“You should mutter softer,” Cora pointed out. “It would help with the discreetness of your previous saying. Anyway, weren’t you listening? A birdy.”

Hero rolled her eyes and Cora smirked at her annoyance. 

“It’s a saying, Cora” Hero retorted. “I assumed you knew that, but apparently, I was wrong.”

“Your attitude is endearing,” Cora stated. “I never knew you could be so sassy. If you must know, I saw you two in the park bird-watching. Hence the ‘little birdy’”

Hero nodded slowly. This was weird for her. Ever since Bea had left she had been pretty much a loner at school, eating lunch alone. She wasn’t even finished with her sandwich yet. But she had to admit, Cora was intriguing and Hero had found a liking to her sass as well.

“He gave you that necklace,” Cora realized, her voice softening a little.

“Back when we were talking, yes. He did,” Hero confirmed.

“I’ve never seen him do such a thing.”

“He’s just trying to make up for the past.”

Cora shrugged tossing Hero’s book back on the table. “Maybe. But I don’t think that’s why.”

Hero was about to ask what she was implying but Cora had already started to stand up, getting ready to leave. 

“Nice finally meeting you, Hero Duke,” Cora smiled, a genuine, real one. “I believe that we will become best friends. Bosom buddies if you will,” Cora added gesturing to Hero’s book, Anne of Green Gables.

Hero smiled and gave Cora a small, short wave before she left. Soon after, Cora had popped back up again.

“By the way,” Cora interjected. “He liked your cookie.”

Then she was off, and Hero was left at the picnic table slightly confused on what to do with that information.

 

She found her answers later that week, on Friday. Boredom had taken over and Hero had just finished her pile of books Bea had sent her from England. It was late, but it wasn’t late enough for Hero to justify going to bed. And so, she found herself making sugar cookies as an apology to John.

Two hours and one run to the supermarket later, Hero had finished her apology basket. It contained cookies and tea. Because why not? She reasoned, smiling to herself.

By the time she had finished, it was eleven and Hero was tired. She hid the basket in her room, so Leo wouldn’t come into the kitchen and eat it. But also, not getting questions behind her motives was a nice plus too. 

 

Saturday. A whole two weeks since Hero’s outburst. In reality, it wasn’t even that drastic. She was just breaking down a bit, ranting, saying things that popped into her head. It had consequences but John hadn’t really blamed her for it. Everyone needed a little outburst once and a while. 

He wasn’t mad at her. He deserved it. And while it hurt to see her blame him for her birthday, although he did understand that it actually was his fault, he wasn’t avoiding her. Sort of. 

He didn’t break a promise. And he had promised to help Hero be brave. It hurt him a bit to see her sad gaze whenever he passed her in the hallways without a smile, but he knew she wanted to talk to him. He also knew he was afraid of doing so. So, he stayed away. Forcing Hero to come to him and be brave. He expected a week or two to go by and her to pop out of somewhere and say hi to him and apologize. What he didn’t expect was a gift basket filled with cookies, tea and a Tardis mug to appear on his doorstep with an apology.

I was an ass. Sorry. I talked to Cora, she told me you liked my cookies. So here you go. I am truly sorry.  
-Hero

He smirked. Brave comes in different forms, he guessed. He was about to throw the note away when he saw some of her familiar hand-writing scribbled on the back.

P.S. Oh, and if you can. Meet me at the beach by the Paradise Ice Cream just so I know you forgive me. Or don’t. That’s cool with me too.

It looks like he had something to do today after all.

 

The beach wasn’t too far away. It also wasn’t too hard to find Hero. She was sitting on a rock eating ice cream and writing in a small moleskin notebook with a pen. He never knew that she liked to write.

“Hey,” he greeted sheepishly. He felt very uncomfortable. Sand was in his shoes and he had stepped in a puddle getting out of his car so his socks were wet. But Hero’s smile made it worth it for him. 

She smiled closing her notebook and hiding it in her pocket of her grey cardigan. She pulled out some money from her pocket and stuck her hand out, urging John to take it.

“Ice Cream,” she shrugged. “Go get some.”

He was about to protest but Hero shot him a look, he ended up getting vanilla, same as hers. 

“If you’re about to apologize,” John smirked. “Don’t. The apology basket was enough.”

“Okay,” she shrugged. But soon after she pretended to start coughing and in the middle of it, John swore he heard her say sorry. 

Her smirk afterward confirmed his theory.

“We okay though?” Hero asked. 

John nodded. “Yeah. Why wouldn’t we be?” he asked incredulously.

She shrugged again. 

“Never had much luck with apologies” she muttered. 

John heard but didn’t comment. It was easier not to. He knew they had to confront their past, but for now it was easiest to smile and nod and eat his complimentary ice cream.

“Can I see what you’re writing?”

“Nope,” Hero denied. “But you can read the cover”

She held up her journal and on the cover it read “for Hero Duke’s eyes only.”

“Funny,” he deadpanned.

“I thought so,” she smirked. 

“Seriously though. Can I read it?” John begged.

Hero shook her head and set the journal down on the table. 

“Maybe one day,” she smiled.


	5. Watching

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own any of the movies that I mention in here, just in case you didn't know.

“I don’t see why I have to pick the movie,” John complained. “You have every right to pick it yourself”

Hero and John were assigned partners a few days ago in history. Their assignment was to create a poster that advertised feudalism in the middle ages of Europe. They had finished within the first hour. But John didn’t want to return home to his awkward parents and Hero didn’t want to spend another night watching Netflix alone so here they were, fighting over who should get to pick the movie. 

“You,” she said poking John lightly in the chest. “are my guest. And to be polite and a nice host I have to offer you the option of picking the movie.”

“But that doesn’t automatically mean I have to,” he whined.

“It does if you want to be polite.”

John rolled his eyes. “When have I ever been polite,” he scoffed. 

“Pick,” she ordered, losing patience. 

“All you have is chick-flicks!” He whined again.

Hero gasped, feigning hurt. “That is so not true”

“Yes it is,” John argued. He picked up a couple random DVD’s from her drawer. “Monte Carlo, Juno, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, the Breakfast Club.”

“Hey,” Hero shouted. “Two of those are beloved classics and if you wanted a better movie you should’ve brought one.”

Hero turned away and John followed, still caught up in arguing. 

“We just decided now that we wanted to watch a movie,” he pointed out.

Hero whipped around so fast that it caught John off-guard, causing him to crash into her. She stumbled a bit but quickly recovered. 

“Then I guess you should’ve just know then,” Hero whispered harshly. 

She smirked when his face turned a little paler and she walked away to make some tea. 

“It’s impossible for me to predict the future,” he argued once he had recovered.

“Nothing’s impossible,” Hero yelled enthusiastically. 

“Tell the whales that want to live on land that,” John mumbled, unaware that Hero overheard.

“Okay, when I visit Shamu in Florida I’ll be sure he gets the memo,” she smiled.

“Smart-ass,” he retorted, unable to come up with a better comeback.

“I’m sorry,” she smirked. “I wasn’t aware I became a donkey. Do I have wrinkles?”

“Oh god, Hero,” he sighed putting his head in his hands. “I don’t remember you ever being this sarcastic”

“Neither have I,” she stated brightly. “But it’s quite fun!”

She skipped away to tend to the kettle while John reluctantly picked out a movie.

“Here,” he sighed. He handed her a My Little Ponies DVD. 

“You ass,” she yelled, smiling. She took the DVD and threw it at him. It successfully hit him in the arm and he dramatically fell on the floor. “Oh my gosh,” she mumbled and she ran over to John who lay still on the floor. 

When she was close enough, he spazzed out and yelled “Boo!”

Hero screamed so loud that in seconds a neighbor was over pounding on the door. 

“One second,” Hero yelled. Before turning around and smacking John. 

“Oh Hero,” her neighbor cried. “I was worried there. What happened?”

John appeared at the doorway. 

“It’s my fault,” he claimed. “I scared her.”

Hero’s cheeks flushed a light pink.

“Oh,” her neighbor said awkwardly. “Sorry to have bothered you”

“No,” Hero interjected. “Thank you really, it was very nice of you. Give me a second”

Hero ran inside leaving John and her neighbor in the doorway.

“I’m very sorry to cause you the trouble ma’am,” John apologized. 

“No don’t. I’m glad Hero has a friend again. She seems quite happy compared to the last time I had to come over.”

John was about to ask what that meant when Hero came back bearing a plastic bag filled with cookies.

“Here,” Hero said handing her the bag. “Thank you, again”

Her neighbor nodded and bid them a goodnight. As soon as the door closed, Hero took a couch cushion and hit John. 

“Jerk,” she yelled as it came in contact with his side.

“Hey,” John said. “Violent. By the way, where do you get those cookies? Do you have a secret stash or something?”

Hero chuckled dropping the pillow. “Nah, I had excess after I made your basket. I just gave the rest to her.”

She stood up and walked over to the DVD drawer and pulled out The Avengers.

“This okay?” she asked.

“Absolutely,” he smiled and settled on the couch stretching his legs across the length of the couch.

Hero got her tea and set it out the table before realizing he had taken up the whole couch.

“Ugh,” she sighed. “You’re such a couch hog” 

“You’re welcome,” he smirked.

She picked up his feet and sat down, laying his feet on top of her lap. He gave her a look.

“What?” she said innocently. “You made it pretty clear that you weren’t going to move.”

He shrugged but kept his feet on her lap and they watched the movie. Halfway through, Hero fell asleep.

“It’s just so cool,” John started to rant. “The fact that they’ve pretty much never met but they work so well together,” he paused. “And you’re asleep. God, Hero” he shook his head.

Despite the fact that he loved this movie, his eyes kept drifting off to look at Hero. She looked so peaceful and innocent. John admired that. He honestly admired her. An explosion went off, and yet John couldn’t help but look at her. 

Her hair that was once in a ponytail had become disheveled over the past hour, making strands fall out here and there. And, not for the first time, he questioned on how he could’ve brought himself to hurt this girl.


	6. Makeup

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I decided Hero with glasses (like hipster-ish glasses) would be cool so that's what I did. I don't think that she wears glasses in real life though.

Turns out, John had fallen asleep as well after the movie. When her mums came home, they were startled to find a boy sleeping (innocently of course) with Hero. After a moment of talking, they both had realized it was John Donaldson and their first reaction was to start yelling and wake them up and scold them. But after the adrenaline rush came and went, they both had agreed to just leave them be and let Hero deal with it on her own.

When she finally woke up, Hero was completely confused about the weight that was slightly crushing her bladder. She was surprised to find John Donaldson’s feet on top of her lap. Gently, she removed his feet and ran to the bathroom.

Her hair looked unkempt and her makeup had smudged off. Her contacts felt stuck to her eyes and after five minutes she managed to peel them off. She took off all her makeup and slid on her glasses before returning outside to the living room where John peacefully slept. 

Suddenly, her stomach growled with hunger. She jumped at the noise, realizing that she hadn’t eaten anything in the last 12 hours. She scrambled to the kitchen and started to make eggs, bacon and toast when she paused to get her iPod and headphones.

 

John had woken up to the smell of bacon. Something that he hadn’t done since he was a little boy. He stretched and opened his eyes, shocked at the surrounding scenery. He had slept over Hero’s house. The thought made him a little dizzy. His parents must be worried sick and Hero’s mums, oh god, what did they think. But where was Hero?

He looked towards the end of the couch and saw no other human there. He turned around surveying the area to find Hero in the kitchen, cooking breakfast. 

She was dancing around the kitchen as she cooked, her lips moving to the words of the music she was listening too. John chuckled to himself and smiled as Hero took her whisk that she used on the eggs and proceeded to use it as a microphone. She turned around as a grand finale only to find a smiling John staring back at her. 

Overcome with embarrassment, she put the whisk down and turned around as to hide her blush from him. 

“Do you want to stay for breakfast?” Hero asked, her back still turned. 

John nodded but then realized that she couldn’t see him and spoke up. “Yeah, sure. That would be great, thanks” he stuttered awkwardly. “Um. Where are your parents?”

Hero chuckled at his awkwardness. 

“My mums? Oh, they have this brunch thing with some of their colleagues today.”

She finally turned around and set a plate in front of John along with an empty glass. 

“Apple or Orange?”

“What?” John asked confused.

“Sorry,” Hero apologized. “Apple juice or orange juice?”

“Apple please.”

Hero nodded and poured herself a cup as well. Soon, settling down across from him.

They ate in silence, stealing small glances at each other from time to time. Suddenly, John took notice of Hero’s appearance. He had wondered why she had looked slightly different to him. Honestly, he should have noticed it before. But now, he had just realized that Hero was wearing glasses. They were square hipster-ish frames that complimented her oval like face shape. John thought they made her look older, in a good way. And it took a little while longer but he eventually noticed a lack of makeup.

Usually, Hero’s makeup was very subtle. No crazy eyeshadow or eyeliner. There wasn’t any bold lipstick or overdone blush, just a little mascara and some natural eyelids. There wasn’t much of a difference when she took the makeup off, John observed. But he still felt surprised to see Hero without it.

“Why are you staring?” Hero asked.

“Uh,” John stammered. “You were glasses?”

Hero laughed. 

“Yeah,” she smiled. “I’ve had them since I was little but got contacts in 5th grade, before you came to Messina. I guess everyone forgot. I rarely where my glasses out anyway.”

“I like you with glasses,” John blurted.

‘Oh god,’ John thought. ‘Why the hell did I just say that?’

“Thanks,” Hero said pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. 

After a little small talk and a mug or two of tea, John excused himself and said he needed to go.

“You’re sure you can’t stay?” Hero pleaded. “I like having you here”

Coming from anyone else, John might have to say he felt creeped out. But this was Hero and she was a saint.

“Sorry,” he apologized. “Ann is probably worried sick. I’ll come over again, yeah?”

Hero nodded fervently. “Except you’re choosing the movie.”

John groaned but agreed.

“Bye Hero,” he smiled. 

Hero watched as the door closed before uttering a small bye.


	7. Hypothetically

Cora studied John as he was drawing a tape dispenser at lunch. He was drawing with an old mechanical pencil he had found on the ground during chemistry. It wasn’t the best drawing utensil and John knew it, but he didn’t care. He knew that Cora was just dying to question him about his relationship, if he could even call it that, with Hero. Drawing managed to stop her from immediately attacking him with relentless questions. A barrier of some sort. John wasn’t ignorant enough to know that it would deter her completely, but it would at least hinder her a bit.

She had been quiet for eight minutes as of this very moment. And according to John’s mind, it was a new record. ‘Maybe she’ll let it go,’ he thought to himself.

“John…” Cora smirked. 

“Dang,” John pouted. “And to think I thought you were going to let this go.”

“Let what go?” Cora smiled, feigning innocence. 

John gave her a look and proceeded to go back to his drawing. (He had started it in art as the teacher had drawled on and on about a quiz that everyone failed, except for John (he got a 98). It had thus resulted in a very long, boring class).

A book suddenly plopped down on the picnic table along with an apple. 

“Mind if I sit?” Hero asked Cora, knowing that John didn’t want to be interrupted.

“Sure,” Cora shrugged.

“Thanks, Cora” Hero smiled. “Picasso,” she added before sitting down next to John and opening her book to read.

John smirked inwardly at Hero’s name for him and watched out of the corner of his eye as she began to read.

Cora snuck glances at them, trying to catch them looking at each other. Only to fail. Neither of them lost focus after the initial greeting. It annoyed Cora to her wits end.

“Ugh,” she complained. “Mr. Joclin was a pain today.”

Hero looked up for a second before returning to her book.

“Rude,” Cora muttered only so John could hear.

“Sorry,” Hero interrupted. “I needed to finish my chapter.”

Cora awkwardly shifted back and forth, feeling a little guilty for calling Hero out.

“I personally don’t think that Mr. J was all that bad.”

“Are you kidding me?” John cried.

His minor outburst caught both girls off guard, making them jump in their seats.

“He was basically explaining how paint dried,” John pointed out.

“Obviously,” Hero retorted. “That was a question on the quiz after all.”

Cora smiled proud of herself. It didn’t take long to get John and Hero into their half-fighting, half-not, conversation. 

“Only you would know that,” John observed. “You were the only one listening.”

“No,” Hero remarked. “I just remembered it off the quiz.”

“Why, in the world, would you ever want to remember a question like that?”

Hero shrugged and nonchalantly took a bite of her apple. 

“For this conversation?” she suggested, smirking.

She glanced down at her watch noticing that she was late for a meeting with the guidance counselor.

“Oh no,” she sighed. She quickly stood up scrambling her book and bag together along with her apple. 

“What?” John asked.

“I have to go to the guidance counselor for my weekly meeting,” she explained quickly. She waved goodbye and ran off before either Cora or John could reply.

“Weekly meeting?” Cora asked, incredulously.

John shrugged. He attempted to play it off as cool but he would admit he was curious as to why. If it had to do with him, he wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

“Anyway,” Cora smiled taking John’s pencil so he couldn’t draw.

“Cora,” John whined. “No questions.”

“Fine,” Cora relented. “How about a game?”

“Sure,” John rolled his eyes.

“Hypotheticals”

“No.”

“You agreed.”

“I pre-agreed.”

“Liar,” Cora remarked.

“Fine, go.”

“Okay, so hypothetically,” Cora started. “What if you hadn’t gone all bezerk on Pedro?”

John rolled his eyes again.

“I would’ve still ran away”

“Okay, hypothetically, what if you liked Hero?”

“I like her as a friend.”

“What about more than friends, hypothetically of course”

“It would never work,” John stated easily. “I’m too caught up in the past and she’s still healing. I would never put her in a situation that she didn’t want to be in. I’ve already caused her enough pain”

“What if she liked you back?”

“Then,” John paused. “Then I would wait until she approached me.”

“Why?” Cora asked.

“She wants to be brave. I’m not going strip an opportunity to be brave away from her”

Cora stopped for a second, thinking of her next hypothetical.

“What if,” Cora began, cautiously. “What if she forgave you?”

“Doesn’t mean I forgave myself,” John muttered. There was an awkward silence between the pair. “Are we done?”

Cora nodded and John took his drawing and pencil and left.

 

John stalked out of the courtyard. There was still 30 minutes until class. He decided to wander. Soon, he found himself at the guidance counselor’s listening to Hero’s conversation.

“Do you think you’re ready?” he could hear the counselor ask.

“Absolutely not,” Hero said, firmly. “I’ll never be ready”

“What’s stopping you?”

“My past”

“Why let it get to you?”

“It traumatized me, beyond belief.”

John had heard enough. She hadn’t forgiven him. She hadn’t let her past go. Cora was wrong, sure it was hypotheticals but it had given him hope. He should have never let his guard down, never-

“John?” 

It was Hero. He hadn’t noticed but he had been walking for ten minutes and Hero had finished her meeting and suddenly appeared.

“Go away,” John seethed. 

“Woah,” Hero stepped back. “What did I do?”

“You know what you did,” John yelled, attempting desperately to keep his voice down.

“No, I don’t”

“Do you forgive me?”

“What kind of question is that?”

John was pacing now. He ran his hand through her hair multiple times before turning back around and putting himself very close to Hero.

“Your birthday,” he clarified. “Do you forgive me?”

“Of course,” Hero said, honestly.

“You’re lying,” John yelled. “I heard you talking to your counselor-”

“You what?” Hero yelled back. Her voice now the same tone as John’s.

“Shut up!”

Hero stumbled back. Her mind felt foggy. 

“I heard you saying that you can’t forget the past. That it traumatizes you.” John let out a sarcastic laugh. “So one of you is lying!”

Hero felt her mind flashback to her party. She was trying, so hard, to forget the past. She had. Her birthday past, she had moved on. But this John, was too like her birthday to forget and she wanted to fight, she wanted to be the person she wished she was on her birthday.

“Fuck off, John,” Hero said. Her voice was so steady, so emotionless. It didn’t sound like Hero. Her eyes were like glass and her stature was rigid, ready to defend. 

John was scared. He had never heard Hero swear so intensely, that and her whole voice was monotone. It wasn’t even like she was angry, just calm. You wouldn’t know she was angry until you saw her harsh glare.

“I don’t know why you were eavesdropping when it is most certainly none of your business but I don’t give a shit anymore. You invaded my privacy which means you lost the privilege to even come within a meter of me.”

She stepped closer. John stood still, frozen from fear.

“However, I’ll be nice,” Hero said her voice dropping to a deadly whisper. “When I was seven I had this essay competition where I read on stage and threw up on it out of nervousness. That’s what I considered traumatizing. The counselor and I were discussing a potential essay competition and she wanted me to enter my writing. And I said that I wasn’t ready because I still remember that day in vivid detail.”

“Oh,” John said sheepishly.

“Yeah, oh” Hero said sarcastically. She slung her bag over her shoulder and left, steaming mad.

“Sorry.”

“Fuck off, you little shit,” Hero sneered. Then she left, leaving John in the dust.

It wasn’t like Hero to get mad and swear. She hated herself for doing it. But John had reminded her so much of Claudio in that moment that she had to fight back or else she knew that she would never forgive herself. More than anything she was hurt, hurt that John didn’t trust her but more hurt that he would ever act that way. It was all too familiar.

When she got home, all she could do was cry. It was one of those cries where you may have a sense of why you’re crying but it just feels so good to let it all out that you don’t care how embarrassing you look or why you’re crying in the first place.

After the tears, she felt foggy. Her eyes were hurting from her contacts and her mind was hurting from today. She didn’t know what to think anymore. She thought she could trust John. Maybe she was wrong. She didn’t know. But she did know that she couldn’t forgive him easily, or at all¬¬¬. He had broken her trust in a way she wasn’t pleased with.

It might seem like such a small thing to get upset about but to Hero it felt like the world. So she couldn’t have cared less if she was acting like a drama queen. It’s her life. She’s the only one who gets a say.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm sorry if you didn't like my writing at the end there. I agree, it was bad.


	8. Crime

“Hero,” John yelled across the courtyard, attempting to get her attention. It didn’t work. “I know you hear me!” Hero just kept walking into the counselor’s office, safely escaping John’s attention. 

John sighed in defeat. It had already been three weeks since their fight that John, admittedly, brought onto himself. Two minutes after Hero stormed off, John had realized that he had been a complete douche. Again. He always seemed to be hurting her, in one way or another. 

That night, after their fight, John confessed his troubles to Ann. He started with Pedro and Hero’s birthday and ended with his stupidity that occurred earlier that day. She had listened. She didn’t interrupt or judge him, all she did was what he had asked her to do, just listen. 

Ann was shocked when he had started talking to her, willingly. But she had understood his pain, she had a sister who always looked down on her, and she found herself relating to John and comforting him. 

FLASHBACK

“So?” John had asked after he had confessed his problems. Ann stayed quiet a moment. “Are you just going to judge me like everyone else?” he questioned bitterly.

“That’s why you ran away,” she said slowly and John nodded back. Ann smiled. “Makes more sense now than it did before at least. Look John. I’m not saying what you did wasn’t scummy or a dick-move but I am saying that this Hero girl, you obviously care and if you care enough to confess your problems to me than she deserves an apology.”

John nodded again, numbly.

“I’ve never seen her so angry, so determined to make me, I don’t know,” John paused. “Feel how angry she was.”

Ann took a shaky breath. “Did you ever think that maybe your yelling triggered a flashback in Hero’s brain where she thought that you were Claudio?”

“No,” mumbled, John.

END FLASHBACK

He had been working up the courage to apologize ever since, but Hero was so quiet nowadays that she could easily slip into the crowd unnoticed. So he waited outside the office for Hero to come out, but he didn’t account for the door on the other side, and Hero slipped away once more.

 

“Hero,” Cora greeted. “Mr. Kuiner wants you to get a stack of printer paper from the supply closet.”

Hero nodded and went off to the closet only to be stuck in there with John.

“You planned this,” Hero muttered.

“You wouldn’t listen,” John stated simply.

“I don’t want your apology”

“Maybe I don’t want your forgiveness.”

“Then why are we in here?”

“I believe you need paper and I wanted to talk to you without you trying to escape me.”

“Fine. One question.”

There was a moment of silence between them.

“Did I make you think of Claudio?”

Hero gasped slightly, almost inaudible.

“Yes,” she mumbled. She sighed before sitting down. John followed suit. 

“Sorry,” he said. 

Hero nodded once. “Are we done?”

“No bag of forgiveness cookies?” John asked, jokingly.

“Not this time,” Hero replied grabbing a stack of paper before pushing her way out of the closet.

 

It was a particularly rainy day the next day. And lucky Hero, her car wasn’t working and she was forced to walk in the rain. All the way home. 

“Get in,” John said, pulling up to Hero as she walked down the sidewalk.

“No,” Hero replied, stubbornly.

“Hero, for god sakes just get in the car before you catch a cold.”

She got in.

“You know kidnapping is illegal,” Hero deadpanned. “So was taking me as hostage the other day.”

“Thanks Einstein”

“I’m serious, I could report this as a kidnapping and you’d be an official criminal.”

“Who says I’m not an official criminal now?” John smirked, turning the corner onto Hero’s street. “Here you go.”

Hero managed a small smiled. “Thanks, John.”

She started to run up to her house before she quickly turned around and opened the door again.

“I’m not that mad anymore.” John nodded. “I still don’t forgive you though.”

“I don’t deserve it anyway,” he shrugged.

“I’m not so sure,” Hero smiled before running inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to admit, I didn't actually know what to do with the crime prompt and so this is the best I could come up with, sorry. It's a short chapter since I was pounded with homework tonight.


	9. Magic

John and Hero don’t necessarily grow back together. There’s a mutual understanding that although the anger has subsided, the forgiveness has to be earned. So there’s no big reunion, but there is he occasional hang out where they might watch TV and try to throw popcorn in each other’s mouth. 

They usually hang out with Cora on the weekends when her mom stops berating her for being so distracted from her homework. It’s a time where the three of them can go to events they normally wouldn't go to on their own. They've been to renaissance fairs and origami classes and today Hero suggest going to her neighbor’s talent show.

“Come on, guys,” Hero pleads. “Annie’s really proud of the set she created, and I promised that I would go.”

Cora and John were unconvinced.

“It would mean so much, to me and to her. Please?” Hero flashed her subtle, puppy dog eyes.

“Fine,” Cora sighed. “But only because you’re Hero and I like you. Will there be food?”

Hero nodded excitedly. “John?”

“No,” he deadpanned, 

“But-”

“Hero,” John started. “Kiddie talent shows are basically watching two hours of useless crap that kids do. I am not a fan of that.”

“For me?” 

John rolled his eyes. “Fine.”

 

When they got there, the room was filled by parents with cameras and screaming kids. Instantly, John turned back around and headed out the door.

“Oh, no you don’t,” Hero warned before grabbing John’s sleeve and pulling him back in. “It’s not that bad.”

“Are we in the same room right now?” John asked incredulously. “I can name five kids who-”

“Not interested,” Hero stated as she walked away in search of Annie.

Cora and John followed reluctantly into the middle of the room. 

“Hero!” yelled a high pitched voice. A girl with brown flowing curls in a ponytail with a top hat came running over, hugging Hero as she approached.

“Annie!” Hero yelled back as she picked her up throwing her in the air a little before settling the little girl on her hip. “How is my favorite neighbor today?”

“Awful. My costume is ripping and no one will help me. Marcus is too fixated on getting Shelly to look at him and Pat the bunny is missing!”

“Is he a real bunny?”

“No, it’s a stuffed animal but I bet that Peggy Sue took it.”

John and Cora watched awkwardly as Hero interacted with the girl.

“Who are you?” Annie asked.

“Oh, these are my friends John and Cora.”

They waved at Annie and she smiled back.

“Can you help me fix my costume?” Annie asked, her attention back on Hero.

“Of course,” Hero smiled. “Sorry guys, I’ll be back. Do whatever.”

Hero was soon whisked off to behind a curtain.

“Great,” John muttered. Cora started to walk away. “Where are you going?”

“To talk to that hot piece of mancake over there,” Cora smirked her finger pointing to a younger teacher that was helping to supervise. 

This left John with two options. One was to go follow Cora and watch her flirt with a guy that was possibly a decade older than her or use his second, and more appealing, option which was to follow Hero and help her with Annie’s problems. He chose the latter. 

John pushed through the crowd of people and slipped behind the curtain that Hero and Annie had disappeared behind. He found himself in a crowded backstage area covered in glitter and sparkles and nervous kids. He instantly wanted to run back out but that left him with Cora and he’d rather watch Barney & Friends before he would watch Cora flirt terribly. 

He spotted Hero and Annie in a corner, Annie shifting side to side and Hero bent down over Annie’s costume with a needle, attempting to the tear back up.

“Annie, stop shifting,” Hero scolded lightly. 

“I can’t! I need Pat the Bunny and Marcus to be here so I know everything’s alright”

“Can I help?” John offered, awkwardly. He was amused at Hero’s face which was in awe of his actions.

“Oh yes! Thank you!” Annie smiled, hugging John. John didn’t know what to do and instead patted her back hesitantly as Hero laughed as his antics.

“Annie! Stop moving!” Hero yelled, annoyed. 

Annie obliged before turning to John to give him instructions. 

“See that girl with the black hair and the ugly neon yellow dress?” John nodded. “She’s Peggy Sue. She stole Pat the Bunny. And over there, the boy with my matching top hat and the sparkly vest? That’s Marcus, he needs to come over here so that Mrs. Lipperstein can call us on together.”

John was sent off while Annie was left with Hero, who was still attempting to mend the tear.

“I like him,” Annie stated, happily. Hero nodded.

“He’s great,” she commented off handedly.

“You must like him too,” Annie smiled.

“He’s my friend, of course I like him”

“I meant in that way.”

Hero cleared her throat. “Done. Finally mended.”

Soon after, John came back with Marcus following and the stuffed bunny in his hand. Annie gave him a quick hug and a thanks before doing the same to Hero and rushing off to get in place so that they could be called onto the stage.

Hero and John quickly excused themselves from the backstage area finding Cora in the sea of parents in the back by the teacher she was flirting with. They seemed to be having an okay time, much to John’s surprise, and Hero and John sat next to them just in time. The lights had turned down a little after and the show began.

John was right. Most of the kids were just doing random acts that required little to no skill. A girl in a cheerleading costume did cartwheels around the stage. A boy recited a poem in pig latin and a group of five kids recited the number pi for around a minute. (Which was honestly quite impressive).

Annie and Marcus were up last with their magic show set. They brought parents up to the stage to do card tricks and pulled Pat the bunny out from capes and under tables and tossed him around. They were a hit.

After the show had finished and Hero had said her goodbyes, the three traveled home dropping Cora off first before dropping Hero at her house.

“I like magic,” Hero stated, mostly thinking out loud.

“It’s not magic,” John scoffed.

“Maybe not,” Hero agreed. “But I like the idea of it. Don’t you?”

“It’s alright,” he shrugged.

“Come on, you never used to believe in Santa or the Easter bunny?”

“Nope.”

“So you don’t like magic, at all?”

“I believe that magic is the fact that you’re my friend after all I did. I think it’s magic that Annie likes me. I think it’s a miracle that you forgave me.”

“I didn’t,” Hero interrupted. 

“Right,” John confirmed, an awkward silence soon falling over the car.

John pulled into Hero’s driveway but Hero didn’t move. 

“You never answered if you like magic or not.”

“You’re pretty magical, Hero Duke. And I like you,” John states simply.

Hero nodded and shot John a quick smile before running inside.


	10. Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hero and John get dragged to yet another party, and Ben and Bea share some news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own the Imitation Game with Benedict Cumberbatch but go see it because it is amazing!

Somehow, Hero and John end up at another high school party. Cora had tricked them into thinking they were seeing The Imitation Game at the cinema but instead she had taken a back route and forced them into attending the party. 

As soon as they arrived, Cora had sauntered off to see her new boytoy and left Hero and John to their own devices. No one really seemed to notice John and Hero. They were all too absorbed in drinking games and dancing. But anyone who was surveying the seen could notice the discomfort in both Hero and John’s eyes, they immediately looked out of place.

“Drink?” John asked, his voice cracking a bit.

Hero shook her head and John nodded a bit awkwardly before a mutual silence resumed.

“Well,” Hero sighed. She uncrossed her arms and looked at John. “How ‘bout a dance?”

John scoffed. “I don’t dance.”

“Everyone dances. You just don’t know it yet.”

John shook his head. “Seriously, I don’t dance. My dance moves are an embarrassment to the human race.”

“It can’t be that bad.”

“You won’t take my word for it.”

Hero shrugged a smirk appearing on her face. “Only one way to find out.”

Before John could really comprehend what Hero had said, he was pulled out onto the dance floor by Hero. The music that was playing was all fast and energetic but Hero had already pulled John close.

“You are hearing the same music I am, right?” John asked, incredulously. “Because, and correct me if I’m wrong, this isn’t the right music to slow dance to.”

“Oh shush up,” Hero scolded. “Hey, you’re not that bad.”

“Sure,” John smiled, his voice tinged with sarcasm. “And unicorns are right outside the window.”

“Well, they are.”

John quickly whipped his head around to the window to find nothing there. 

“Got ya,” Hero smirked. 

John shook his head in disbelief. “You did not just do that.”

Hero kept smiling. She was awfully too proud for John’s likes.

“I thought you said you didn’t drink,” John observed.

“I don’t,” Hero said her voice suspicious.

“Weird. You have a stain on you shirt,” he pointed out. John’s finger was right below her neck, but he wasn’t pointing to anything but a clean piece of fabric.

“I do?” Hero asked, looking down only to be flicked by John’s finger.

It was John’s turn to grin now, his joke playing out successfully.

“That was just awful,” Hero laughed.

“But it worked.”

“I can’t believe it did.”

They were still dancing, but it had slowed to shifting back and forth as they had talked. 

“Okay,” Hero sighed. “Now for your dance lesson.”

John had managed to wiggle out of Hero’s grasp and leave but was pulled back by Hero, who had all too many reflexes.

“Why do you keep running from things that scare you?”

“I don’t run from you,” he pointed out.

“Do I scare you?”

“Sometimes.”

“Good,” Hero smiled. “Now, your lesson.”

“Hero,” John whined. “Please don’t make me do this.”

She laughed. “Not a chance.”

John rolled his eyes at Hero’s antics.

“Now,” Hero instructed. “Put your hands on my waist. Go on.”

John awkwardly shifted his hands lower. Hero placed her arms around his neck. 

“And now we shift awkwardly back in forth,” Hero smirked.

The music was blaring and fast but it was as if, and as cliché as it was, the whole world had slowed down. It had taken him off guard.

After he had gotten comfortable, he had instinctively, but cautiously, pulled Hero closer. He didn’t notice she had done the same. 

Hero had suddenly pulled away, brushing her hair nervously from her face and then stepping back a few steps. 

“Umm,” Hero stuttered. “We should find Cora, it’s getting late.”

“Yeah,” John agreed. She nodded and turned away to find Cora but John pulled her back, his hands landing back on her waist and hers landing on his chest. “Do I make you nervous?”

Hero paused, still surprised before returning back to a smirk. “Do I make you scared?”

John shook his head as Hero ran off to find Cora, leaving him standing there all alone.

 

“Bea? Why are you calling? It’s three in the morning.”

“Shit, I’m so sorry Hero. I forgot about the time zones. I’ll call back later.”

“Bea, wait. I’m already up.”

Bea gave Hero a sympathetic smile, knowing that Hero wasn’t really one for staying up all night. 

“Oh, hey, Hero!” Ben yelled as he entered the frame. “Did you already tell her?”

“Tell me, what?” Hero interjected.

“I was getting there, dickface,” Bea sighed. 

“Sorry, love,” Ben said as he kissed Bea’s forehead. He had brought over some tea and Hero smiled at their couple-iness.

“Anyway,” Bea continued, a smile now adorning her face. “Ben and I are able to travel back home for a week!”

“Oh my gosh,” Hero exclaimed. “Seriously? How? When? How?”

“Well, my parents wanted to see me for my birthday but knew that Bea and I didn’t have the funds so they provided it for us!” Ben explained.

“I would scream but my mums are asleep!” Instead, Hero opted for dancing around her room as Bea and Ben watched from video chat. 

“Oh, Is Leo home?” Bea asked, hoping that Hero would say no.

“Gosh, no,” Hero stated. “He’s off chasing his Asian girlfriend somewhere in Europe.”

“You don’t sound upset,” Bea noticed.

“He hasn’t been the best brother recently, and I’ve been busy hanging out with my friends,” Hero confessed. 

“Oh,” Ben smiled. “Which friends?”

Hero’s smile faltered a little bit at the question. She was hoping she would have more time to tell Bea about John and Cora but now was as good as time as any.

“John and Cora,” Hero mumbled.

“I see,” Bea deadpanned. 

“Bea,” Ben warned.

“No it’s fine,” she interrupted. “Hero can be friends with whoever she wants. I just don’t like that she’s friends with the people who basically fucked up her life!”

“Bea,” Ben repeated.

“Screw this,” Bea said standing up. “I’m going to get a cookie.”

Hero let her head fall into her hands, frustrated that Bea was so stubborn. Ben awkwardly watched Hero as she vented mentally.

“I’m sorry, Hero,” Ben sighed. “You know Bea she’s just…”

“Once,” Hero complained. “Just once I want her to forgive as easily as she holds a grudge.”

“I know how you feel.”

“John’s different. You have to believe me.”

“I do.”

“He really is, honest,” Hero pleaded, ignoring the fact that Ben already believed her.

“Hero, I believe you.”

“That’s a first,” Hero muttered.

The statement catches Ben off guard. It’s as if Bea was in Hero’s body. He’s surprised that she even thought that in the first place. Before Ben can ask her why, Bea returns with a plate of store-bought chocolate chip cookies and a newly refilled mug of tea.

“Sorry, Hero,” Bea admits.

Hero doesn’t say that it’s okay, Ben notices. She only nods her head and fakes a smile.

“I’m really tired, but I’ll see you guys next week. Yeah?”

Bea and Ben nod and say their goodbyes.

Hero lets out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding.


	11. Sleepover

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 20 days left of LLF! I'm hoping you guys are enjoying this story so far. I don't own Scott Pilgrim or Imitation Game but I did mention them.

Ben and Bea arrive in the middle of the night on a Saturday. Hero almost forgets since she’s out with Cora and John at the movies, finally watching The Imitation Game like they had wanted to the week before. She’s able to finish the movie but as soon as they get out she gets a text from Bea, asking where they are. Suddenly, Hero’s panicking and running out of the movie theatre with Cora and John following closely behind.

“Hero what’s wrong?” John asks, confused.

“It’s um, Ben and Bea,” Hero explains slightly flustered. “I forgot they were getting in today and they’re at the airport and I was supposed to pick them up. But you guys are here and we only have one car-”

“Hero, we’ll pick them up with you,” Cora assures.

It kind of shocks Hero, seeing Cora being supportive. And her first thought is to automatically answer no, because Bea doesn’t like either of them that much and she doesn’t want Bea all grumpy when she arrives. But her second thought, the more reasonable and logical one, says okay because she doesn’t Bea all grumpy because Hero forgot about them. 

So in the next five minutes, Cora and John and Hero are off to the airport to pick up Ben and Bea. Unfortunately, the car is small and there are only five seats, so Ben and Bea fit ‘perfectly’ number-wise, but space-wise not so much.

When they arrive, Hero tells them to wait there and she runs into to fetch Ben and Bea. She gives them both giant hugs before backing away to tell them their situation.

“So,” Hero starts cautiously. 

“Oh no,” Bea sighs.

“I was out with Cora and John watching a movie.”

“Christ,” Bea mutters.

“And I forgot that I had to pick you up, so we kind of just rushed over here and they’re in the car now,” Hero finishes, her voice slightly trailing off at the end.

“What?” Bea yells, capturing the attention of nearby travelers.

“I’m sorry, I just forgot and you guys can squish or John offered to stay at the airport while I drop you and Cora off and then come back.”

Bea wants to agree but Ben stops her and interrupts.

“We’ll be fine, Hero,” he assures her.

She lets out a breath. 

Bea reluctantly follows Hero back to her car and sits in the front seat as Hero helps load the luggage into the trunk. What follows is the most awkward two minutes of John’s life. As Hero helps load stuff in the back, John lets his eyes drift to watch her for a minute, only to return to Bea’s cold glare, raining down upon him. It makes him shift and he nudges Cora for help but she’s asleep, lightly snoring.

“Okay,” Hero announces. “We are all set. Everyone buckled.”

She turns around to look at her passengers when she spots John’s pale face.

“John, are you okay?”

“Yeah,” he confirms although his voice cracks just a little as he says it.

Hero nods unconvinced and he knows that she’s going to bring it up when she talks to him the next day. However it gives him time to think of a cover story. But then he gives up, knowing that this is Hero and she’ll understand. However, he ends up in a battle between yes or no, on what he should tell her and soon enough, Cora is dropped off and his stop is next.

“Is it Bea?” Ben whispers to John.

Bea and Hero are talking about Bea’s travels so they can’t hear Ben whisper or see John’s nod.

“She’s just protective of Hero.”

“I know. But she’s hella scary”

“And that’s why I love her,” Ben smiles.

John can’t help but smile a little bit to himself. 

“Here’s your stop,” Hero interrupts. “I’ll see you tomorrow, John.”

“Bye, bird,” John smirks.

It just slips out and he doesn’t realize what he’s said until he’s hallway up his driveway. It was as if it was a reflex. Hero just sits there smiling for a bit before starting the engine up again and driving home. And if Bea noticed Hero’s subtle blush, she doesn’t say anything.

“Sleepover?” Ben suggests when they reach the Duke household.

Hero’s mums are away on business again and Leo is still gone so they’ve got the whole house to themselves.

“Absolutely,” Hero agrees.

“I’ll make the chocolate salad,” Bea smiles, running off to the kitchen.

“Any movie requests?” Hero asks.

“No,” Ben says shaking his head. “Bird, huh?”

Even from behind, Ben notices her blush from her neck turning slightly red.

“Yeah,” Hero shrugs, acting nonchalant. “I don’t know where that came from.”

“Spill,” Ben says smiling as he jumps onto the couch.

Hero quickly loads in Scott Pilgrim and sits down.

“I got kicked out of class for slapping a dude who called me a ‘slut’,” Hero explains. She can see Ben cringe a bit from the word but she ignores it. “And so John and I ended up bird-watching and he got me this necklace.” Hero holds it up so Ben can see. 

“Do you like him?”

“I don’t know. He’s different from when you last saw him. He’s better, really.”

“Hero-”

“I know be careful, I’ve heard the spiel from many different people.”

“Well yes, but also, do you what you want to do. Go for what your heart wants, not for what other people think. And that includes, Bea.”

Hero nods and opens her mouth to say something but Bea walks in carrying chocolate salad.

“Okay dudes,” Bea smiles. “Are you ready for some hardcore sleepover?”

“Oh wait,” Ben says. “My phone, Pedro’s calling, give me a sec”

“So what’s up?” Hero asks.

“What’s up with you and John?” Bea scoffs. “You two seem awfully close.”

“Bea, I forgave him. And we talked, multiple times in fact, and everything’s okay now.”

“I don’t trust him.”

“You don’t trust anyone except for me and Ben.”

“Hero-”

“Bea,” she interrupts. “I can handle this on my own. I’m not sixteen anymore.”

“Cheers to that,” Bea smiles, the tension finally dissolving. They clink their lemonade glasses together and smile. “You trust him?”

“Yeah, I do.” 

“Then I guess, I trust him too. Kind of.”

Ben comes back in the room with his phone in his hand.

“Pedro and Balthy are in town as well as Meg and Ursula. It’s a full on reunion!”

Bea smiles but catches Hero’s forced one. She shrugs it off and they all move their attention to the movie that Hero had just pressed play on. 

In the morning, Hero’s mums come home to find Hero lying on top of Bea, who’s lying on Ben, who’s propped up against the couch, all of them sleeping. 

“I guess their sleepover was successfully” Hero’s mum whispers to the other. She picks up the chocolate wrappers and dumps them in the trash. 

“Definitely,” her other mom smiles.


	12. Olives

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short chapter about olives.

“God,” Ben sighed. “All the food you have here sucks.”

Ben and Bea were leaving the next morning. They had basically cleaned out Hero’s fridge and taken over the living room, and while Hero loved them dearly, she couldn’t express in words how much she wanted them to leave.

“Ben, you ate all our food,” Hero explained.

His mouth dropped open, forming and o shape. 

“Aha!” Ben cried with excitement. “The grocery! Let’s all take a little field trip to the grocery!”

And that’s how they ended up 20 minutes later, in Hero’s local grocery.

“Who’s paying for all of this?” Hero asked, worried the answer would be her.

“Me,” Ben smiled. “Thank you, birthday money. What do you guys want?”

“Chocolate, soda and cheese puffs. Duh.”

“Same, except chai tea, and greek yogurt and strawberries,” Hero requested. “Please.”

“Okay, well you guys get that,” Ben started. “And I will just be over here, buying olives.”

Ben had run off before either Bea or Hero could stop him.

“Are you sad about leaving?” Hero asked Bea.

“Yeah,” she sighed. “I mean this was my home for months. But at the same time, it doesn’t feel like home anymore. Home is wherever Ben is, and if he’s not there, I guess I’m not home.”

A silence fell over the pair. 

“But, I will miss you. More than anyone here.”

Hero nodded and gave Bea a hug before they went their separate ways to find what they wanted.

 

“Bea!”

Hero was by the strawberries, examining the quality of each carton, when she heard Ben scream from across the store. Immediately, she left and ran over to where they were located. In the olive aisle. Three jars were broken and their juice spilled all over the floor as well as glass shards.

“What happened?” Hero gasped, winded from running.

“Bea scared me and I dropped a jar and then knocked into two others,” Ben explained, ashamed.

“Please, that was all your doing, dickface.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Hero shrugged. “Just go get maintenance and I’ll stay here.”

Soon after they ran off, John had popped up.

“Hero? What are you doing here?” he paused examining the scene. “With olives on the ground.”

“It’s a funny story you see,” Hero said awkwardly. “Bea scared Ben and he kind of…um…dropped the jars.”

“Oh god,” John sighed. “That’s not good.”

“What?” Hero asked.

John pointed to the employees that were heading their way.

“Excuse me, miss. But what kind of stunt are you pulling here?”

“I wasn’t-”

“Listen missy, the way this store works is that we pay for food and you pay us back, that’s the system, that’s how we run this place.”

“But-”

“What doesn’t happen is that you don’t break the perfectly fine things, that we pay for.”

“But sir, we were just about to call for the janitors, we’ll pay for it.”

“We? What you and your boyfriend?” He said pointing to John.

“No, my cousins, who aren’t here.” 

“Sure,” the employee said sarcastically.

“Now get out,” the manager said, he grabbed Hero by the arm and John flipped.

“Hey,” John yelled, his voice booming through the aisles. “We’ll leave but can you please treat the lady with respect.”

His firmness caused everyone to back off and John slipped his arm around her waist and walked her out.

“You both are banned for a month!”

“For what breaking a jar?” Hero murmured. 

John giggled and Hero looked at him alarmed.

“Did you just giggle?”

“No,” he said coughing, standing up straighter.

“Mhmm, I believe you,” Hero said laughing.

“Oh, Hero,” Bea said. “and John...”

“Hi,” John waved awkwardly. Bea’s eyes slid down to where John’s arm was and he realized it was still wrapped gingerly around her waist. He took it off immediately.

“Where are you guys going?”

“Well, the managers came and saw me by the olives and kicked me out so I’m banned for a month and now I have to go. Oh, and this applies to John to,” Hero explained.

Ben and Bea both nodded. 

“We should leave too then,” Ben said. 

“Yeah, probably best,” Hero smiled and they all ran out before the manager saw them still there.


	13. Family

Bea and Ben had a few more hours before they had to leave to head back to London. They were all packed and ready to go, but Ursula had managed to gather everyone together, back on the hill where she filmed the montage. Pedro and Balthy were still home so they came as well as the rest of the gang. Instead this time, John had tagged along from the beginning and Meg wasn’t there, she was swamped with the tests at uni.

One thing that no one, except for Pedro, knew was that Claudio was coming. Pedro had invited him thinking that Ursula had already done so. He was wrong. Ursula had purposely not invited him, for Hero’s sake.

Bea and Ben had brought the food and had arrived first. Followed by Ursula and Balthy who were hanging out beforehand. Pedro and Claudio came a little after, taking everyone by surprise. 

“Come on, Bea,” Ben sighed, trying to grab his phone out of her hands. “Just, hand it over.”

“Never,” she screamed. She stood up quickly and ran away from Ben. “You will never-” 

Bea didn’t account for Claudio’s arrival and upon seeing him she stopped running, abruptly, causing Ben to crash into her. 

“Claudio,” she stammered. She turned around, glaring at Ursula. “Ursula…”

“It wasn’t me,” she shrugged. 

“I did it,” Pedro announced nonchalantly, he didn’t realize that this was a big deal to everyone there.

“Oh come on, Bea,” Claudio pleaded when he saw her mad gaze. “I thought we had moved on. You know, we can be one big happy family again.” He moved toward her and draped his arm across her shoulders, she immediately shrugged him off.

“We,” she started, gesturing between them. “stopped being any type of family when you slut-shamed Hero at her sixteenth birthday party.”

Claudio was about to respond when all six of them heard laughter coming up from the bottom of the hill. John and Hero had finally arrived, the last of the eight. When they appeared, Hero and John were racing to the blanket, baskets in hand, to see who would win. They didn’t even notice a fuming John as they passed.

“Ha,” Hero smiled. “I beat you! I told you I was faster and I beat you!” She did a small victory dance as she hummed lyrics to We Are the Champions.

“Yeah, yeah,” John smirked. Hero was still dancing when John pulled Bea’s sweater out of his bag. “Here, you left this in my car yesterday.”

(After the grocery store incident, John treated everyone to a movie and so they dropped Hero’s car off at her house and left in his)

Bea took it reluctantly, a sense of awkwardness still lingering in the air from Claudio’s presence, which was Hero and John were still blissfully unaware of. 

Hero had stopped dancing and had noticed Claudio not long after. She started coughing on the sip of water she was taking. Bea and Ben had asked if she was okay, but John was the one who ran over to her and calmed her down a little bit, since she was prone to panicking in these types of situations. The act was a simple one, and no one paid any attention to it. Bea and Ben were more or less used to seeing them being friends, and Balthy and Ursula were people who mostly went with the flow. Pedro and Claudio however were taken back by it.

“You okay?” John asked finally backing away.

“Yeah,” Hero gasped. “Totally cool.” She shot John a smile to prove her point. “Hi, Claudio.”

John managed a small, curt wave. 

“Hey, Hero,” Claudio smiled. “John.” He greeted, coldly.

“Well hello to you too, old pal,” John mumbled under his breath. It was a quite statement, but it was loud enough for Hero to hear, and she burst out laughing, catching the attention of everyone.

“Sorry, sorry,” she gasped again. After she had calmed down, she raised her hand and lightly smacked John in the back of his head.

“Agh,” he shouted. Hero stuck her tongue out at him.

“Well,” Claudio interrupted, tired of John and Hero acting cute. “It’s nice to see everyone back together. Like one big family.”

Bea and Hero both snorted. They made eye contact and raised their hands making an air high five.

“How about that picnic?” Pedro said, trying to break the silence. Everyone nodded and they all sat down.

Hero sat next to John and Bea, Bea sat next to Ben, Ben next to Balthy who sat next to Pedro, who sat next to Ursula who sat next to John.

“Isn’t this swell?” Claudio joked.

“Absolutely, old chap,” John mocked, eliciting a snicker from Hero.

Claudio snapped his head to look at them, trying to make eye contact but Hero and John were lost in their own little world, sheltered from Claudio’s glare

“Claudio, did you find Cleopatra’s necklace or something?” Bea questioned, sarcastically.

“No,” he mumbled.

Everyone quickly returned to their conversation, Pedro and Balthy, Ben and Bea, Hero, John and Ursula, all were talking. They didn’t notice they were leaving Claudio out.

But soon, Ursula left the conversation to take pictures and videos, capturing everyone’s happiness and Claudio’s distinct loneliness.

(Later, Ursula will look through her pictures and claim the one of Hero and John throwing chocolate chips into each other’s mouth, as her favorite)

By the time they had finished three-quarters of the food, everyone was tired and leaning against each other for support. Bea on Ben and Pedro and Balthy and even Hero was slouching a bit into John. Not enough that Bea called them out, but just close enough that Claudio noticed. 

The whole day, Claudio had been the outsider. He had been in some conversations but it always felt like the interest in what he had to say was forced. It was so funny, how they kicked Robbie out in the blink of an eye. But they had kept Pedro. Who hadn’t played a part in starting the rumor, but had supported it. And now, they were slowly, subtly kicking him out as well and replacing him with John. Who was the same person who had not only spread the rumor, but had concocted a whole plan around it, to take his own brother, well stepbrother, down a notch. And that drove him mad. 

“Oh, come on,” Claudio yelled. He was thinking it internally, but it had accidently slipped out, ceasing all conversations that were going on.

“What?” Hero asked the first to speak up.

“Why? Why do you guys except John, of all people, back in but you start isolating me?”

“Because we are,” Hero stated.

“Why are you defending him?”

“Because he’s my friend, Claudio.”

“He was the one who caused your whole birthday fiasco in the first place!”

Hero was now standing, along with Claudio. She had taken many steps forwards, while Claudio had taken a couple back. But now she was standing, up against his chest, a few inches away, looking him straight in his eye. Despite the height difference.

“But you were the one who believed him,” Hero snarled. “You didn’t have to believe him, you didn’t have to slut shame me, you didn’t have to do it on my fucking sixteenth birthday party” she screamed, punctuating every ‘you’ with a jab at Claudio’s chest.

This confrontation had taken everyone, except for John, by surprise. Hero was never one to blame or call out but she did and no one really knew what to do about it.

“What happened to you?” he whispered.

“Gosh, Claudio,” Hero sighed. “You happened,” she said pointing at him. “You happened,” she said pointing at Pedro. “And I know we’ve covered this, but you happened,” she said pointing at John, who only nodded in agreement.

Hero sighed, done with ranting and sat down next to John, who only handed her a cookie and a cup of lemonade.

“What are you dating?” Claudio sneered. 

If someone asked Hero why she did what she did, she wouldn’t have an answer. She was just so angry and mad at Claudio that her knee suddenly made contact with his groin, in such a manner that he fell to the ground in pain.

“We’re not,” Hero smiled, feigning sweetness. “But you lost the privilege to know that many months ago.”

Pedro and Balth had ran over to help Claudio but Ben and Bea just laughed while Ursula took pictures.

When she sat back down, she started angrily chewing her cookie. It wasn’t long before John had leaned over and whispered in her ear.

“I will pay you twenty to do that again.”

Hero smirked but just shook her head and resumed her consumption of cookie.

After a while, Claudio had finally sat back down comfortably, glaring at Hero. She didn’t cower but instead looked straight at him, never breaking eye contact as she bit her cookie once more.

“So much for that big happy family,” she smirked, satisfied.


	14. Disgusted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to kinda branch out and do a chapter from Claudio's POV. It's very short but I think it's really good in quality. But tell me what you think.

Claudio was disgusted to say the least. After the get-together disaster, Claudio had walked home alone. He had come with Pedro, but he awkwardly turned down Claudio’s request saying that Balthy was sick. When Claudio had tried to get Balthy’s attention, he had turned away and looked through his CD file case for his Mumford & Sons CD. Claudio got the message.

He couldn’t believe that the people he had called friends, had just let him feel isolated. What baffled him most was that Hero, the sweet innocent girl he had known to love, had kneed him and swore at him. 

Now, he was walking awkwardly down the sidewalk towards home. It hadn’t really hit him until now, how alone he was. Ever since everyone left for uni, the group that was left in Auckland had broken. 

Once in a while, he would see Hero walking around. She didn’t look lonely, but then again, neither did he. Usually, her bag was slung loosely over her shoulder, a book in hand, an apple in the other. She was never really accompanied by anyone, but from what he could tell, it never seemed to bother her. In hindsight, maybe it did. 

He never really sought her out in the hallways. After the whole debacle had subsided, he had gained new friends. Ones who thought what he did were ‘cool’ or ‘awesome’. Later he learned that it wasn’t either of those things, but the friends stuck.

On more than once occasion, he remembers them making fun of Hero. It was after her birthday, after everyone had forgiven, and it had made him mad. But he hadn’t done anything, he even laughed. 

There was one time when he almost reached out to her. She was eating lunch alone, and his friends had detention. He had almost sat down, he didn’t.

And now, after he had finally noticed the extent of her changes, he wishes that he did stand up for her or talked to her. Just once. Maybe she wouldn’t be so bitter. 

But she had a right to be. He did after all screw up her life, while his was left mutually unaffected. He did have to admit. It wasn’t fair.

 

Claudio planned the next school day, to actually talk to Hero. He had always been one to have an outburst at someone without really being right. And after mulling over the conversation, he realized yet again that he was in the wrong. It was a terrible place to be, he noted.

His mind was set on talking to her. He wasn’t going to look for her and wander around the school but instead to approach her if she happened to walk by. Or if he had happened to see her at her locker, or at her lunch table, alone.

However, she was never really alone. It was weird because she had been so independent the first few months. Claudio just expected that it would continue, obviously he was wrong. She was always walking with her friends. Cora or John, usually. But occasionally she would talk to Verges and check-in, or help Dogberry on assignments. Maybe even once and in a while talk to some lower students just to say hi. He really should’ve known she would make it out okay.

When he sees her later in the day, he goes to talk. She’s by her locker, putting the books in. She’s quite short, barely reaching up to get her bag, but she manages. He’s halfway there and he can feel his palms sweating when he sees John come up. It makes him freeze.

She smiles and grabs her bag, slinging it over her shoulder, before closing her locker and leaning against it to talk with him.

Claudio notices that her manner with John isn’t the same way it was with him. She’s very laid-back talking to John. Occasionally making silly faces and really bad jokes that make John facepalm. She talks about books, he can hear, and he can’t remember for the life of him, her ever doing that. 

It’s been almost twenty minutes now, and he’s still standing there like an idiot. At first he’s sad. He’s lost his chance. But then he’s disgusted. Disgusted that Hero, of all people, with some low-life like John. Someone so manipulative and evil. He’s disgusted that she trusts him and that she’d rather defend him and Claudio. And suddenly, he’s not so sad. He’s proud that he let her go. 

He doesn’t regret it. Deep down, he knows he should.


	15. Clothes

Ben and Bea and everyone had left. Suddenly, it was just Hero and John again. Well, and Claudio and occasionally Cora, but for the most part, it was just Hero and John again. Right after Hero had brought Ben and Bea to the airport, she had rushed right to John’s house. She needed to talk to someone about hurting Claudio yesterday. Bea had just brushed it off and high-fived and she and she needed more than just acknowledgement right now. She needed her best friend.

“Hero?” Pedro announced astonished. Hero had forgotten that even though Bea had left, Pedro and Balthy were still here.

“Hi, Pedro,” she greeted, awkwardly. She waited for Pedro to say something, but he was waiting for her to say something and all that was left was an uncomfortable silence.

“Why are you-,” Pedro started to ask.

“John,” Hero interrupted. Pedro nodded and then stepped aside as to let her in. 

“I didn’t know you guys were really friends.”

Usually, Hero was an ace at small talk. One of the best, really. She could fill awkward silences with award-winning conversations and funny jokes. But instead she just nodded when Pedro said something, she really just wanted to bolt and leave. 

“Well,” Pedro awkwardly drawled. “He’s in his room, second door on the right.”

Hero nodded automatically again. 

She climbed the stairs after, yet again, a moment of silence. Even without Pedro’s directions she could tell John’s room. There were three doors. One had a soccer poster, another had ‘Family is Forever’ sign on it and the other was blank except for a small sticky note that read ‘Warning: Do not enter unless you knocked’. She guessed that this one was John’s room. 

Knock Knock Knock. 

“Come in,” she heard John yell, the music that was quietly playing, turning off. 

“Hi,” Hero greeted shyly. 

“Hero. What are you doing here?”

“Pedro let me in, and I needed to talk to someone. Someone that will listen.”

John nodded and patted the spot next to him on the bed. She plopped down, stretching her legs and leaning against the wall as if she had done it numerous times. It was only her first. 

John noticed that Hero didn’t look like Hero. In a good way of course. She had her glasses on, no contacts. Her hair was thrown messily into a bun that was barely up and her clothes were her usual clothes. They weren’t knee socks with a dress and a cardigan. It was something much more laid-back. She was wearing her Messina HS sweats. They were grey and the lettering was red with gold trimmings. And her top was an old REM t-shirt that she had stolen from her mums closet. 

Her outfit very much reminded him of the time he had accidently slept over Hero’s house. It wasn’t one of his proudest moments but it gave him a tiny insight into ‘normal’ Hero. The Hero that no one really go to see.

John wasn’t dressed in normal attire either. He was still wearing black and a lot of it. But it was more subtle, if that was possible. His pants were pajamas, a dark purple and black plaid that Ann had gotten him for Christmas. At first he hated it, the colors were too bright and it wasn’t his style. But he had come to love the soft material and homey feeling it gave him. His shirt was a Game of Thrones t-shirt that he had found in the back of his closet. 

They hadn’t spoken since Hero arrived, just enjoying the silence. It wasn’t uncomfortable and was in fact the opposite. Hero had never felt more comfortable during the whole week of Bea’s visit than she did with John right now.

She didn’t honestly know if it was how he had allowed her willingly into his room or the fact that she thought John looked just a little cute, that made her start talking. Maybe it was just the boredom of silence that overcame her.

“Am I a bad person?” Hero asked, suddenly.

“Who are you again?” John replied, sarcastically.

“Hero Duke,” she deadpanned.

“Then, um, no you aren’t a bad person.”

“John.”

“Hero, if you’re referring to what happened yesterday with Claudio. No, you are not a bad person. You are in fact the best person I know. And Claudio was being a grade-A jerk anyway. So no, you are, again, not a bad person.”

“Yeah, but I could’ve just-”

“Hero, stop it,” his voice was firm and he had laid his hand on her knee to capture her attention.

“Sorry,” she muttered.

He sighed and pulled away, mirroring her position.

“Do you want some tea?” John asked after a few moments of not talking. Hero nodded and he motioned for her to come downstairs with him.

“Is this the kettle?” she asked pointing to one of the three lined up. There was a metal green one, a metal blue one, and a metal red one. She was currently pointing to the red one.

“No, it’s actually the green one.”

She nodded and filled it up with water then setting it on the stovetop. 

“I’m going to go to the bathroom,” John informed.

Hero smirked and turned towards him. “Are you going to use the John?” She burst out laughing at her own terrible joke.

“Ha. Ha,” John deadpanned. “Haven’t heard that one before. Nice one, Hero.” She smirked and then went back to picking out what tea she wanted.

After John had left, Pedro soon entered.

“Hey,” Hero greeted, her back turned.

“Oh, you’re still here,” he said slowly. 

She smirked, although he couldn’t see it and nodded. “How long are you staying in Auckland for?”

“Until John’s birthday,” he said off-handedly.

Hero whipped around so fast it scared Pedro.

“And when is John’s birthday?” she smirked.

“Tomorrow,” Pedro gulped. Hero was holding a knife. She was cutting strawberries that she had found in the fridge.

‘Hmm,’ Hero though after Pedro left. She would have to do something about that.


	16. Birthday

Planning a party in less than a day is a very daunting task. Planning a birthday party for your best friend while being a complete perfectionist is a complete other story. 

After Hero and John had their tea and argued about TV shows (Hero pushed for The Office US version and John the UK), she had left contemplating her upcoming and sudden plans for John’s birthday. He hadn’t even told her beforehand. For all she knew, Pedro could be lying and John’s birthday had already passed. She desperately hoped that wasn’t the case because then what kind of best friend would that be. 

So here she was. It was two am the next day and she was fretting over plans. It was already John’s birthday as of two hours ago and Hero was about to go insane. She wanted so badly for everything to go perfect. She just didn’t know what John considered ‘perfect’. 

“Hero, hun,” she heard her mom call from behind the door. “Are you still awake?”

“Yeah, mum. Just a few more minutes and then I promise I’ll go to sleep,” Hero begged.

From behind the door her mom shook her head. 

“You said that three hours ago, darling.”

“This time I will.”

Silence.

Slowly, Hero’s mom opened the door and sat across from Hero on her bed. Hero didn’t even seem to notice. She was just typing away on her computer, occasionally pausing to write down a note in her journal.

“Hero,” her mother warned. “Sleep is in fact required for living a normal life.”

Hero’s fingers paused a second from typing. She looked up, and sighed frustrated. Gently, she lifted the computer from her lap and shifted the journal and pens from her bed to her floor. After doing so, she crawled into her mom’s lap, just like she did when she was young and scared. 

“I want everything to be perfect,” Hero mumbled into her mom’s cotton shirt. 

“I know, peanut,” her mom hummed. (Peanut was her mom’s nickname for her since when she was five Hero had only eaten peanut butter sandwiches for a month). “But whatever you do, he’s going to love.”

“He deserves the best,” Hero whispered. A single tear fell from her eye and landed on her plaid, flannel bottoms.   
Her mom stroked Hero’s hair gently, calming her down. “That’s why he has you.” She kissed Hero’s forehead and lifted it so Hero’s eyes met hers. “Right?”

Hero managed a miniscule nod. 

“Now go to sleep,” her mom ordered. Hero moved slowly off her lap and slid under the covers. “Doctor’s orders.”

“You use that joke too much,” Hero sniffled.

“I’m a doctor. It’s one of my few perks. Goodnight, Hero.”

 

When she woke, it was already nine. One advantage, she didn’t have to wait for stores to open. The second being that it was a Monday and school was off for a teacher’s conference. The disadvantage was that she wanted to be at John’s house early so that they could celebrate together before he was forced to celebrate with his family. 

However, the sudden change in plans had gave Hero an idea for John’s party and so for the next four or five hours, she was getting ready for the best birthday of John’s life.

“Pedro,” Hero greeted. “I need a favor.”

“No,” Pedro started. “Balthazar does not have a flower crown you can borrow.”

“Not the point.”

“Oh, proceed then.”

“I need you to get John out of his room and the house for about an hour.”

“Hero, it’s his birthday.”

“I know, and that’s why I need you to get him out while I set up his room for his mini-birthday.”

“I’m in. He didn’t seem that excited for the party we threw him earlier. Maybe you could change that.”

“Only if you get him out of his room and the house.”

“Deal. But I want some of the cake that you are most likely bringing.”

“Is that even a question?”

“Nope. You will bring me that cake.”

“Then you will get John out of the house.”

“I already said deal,” Pedro pointed out.

“Then I will give you your cake later,” Hero smiled “Bye, Pedro.”

“Bye.”

Hero got a text a little while later stating: ‘Took John to a florist shop to get flowers for Balthazar. You’re good for 45 minutes.’ 

Turns out, Hero could’ve set up the party in less than 30 minutes. There wasn’t a lot. She had made silver and gold paper chains and strung them up throughout his room. A banner with that had many smiley faces was hung up across the doorway. And she had bought and made a cake box Funfetti cake. And bought and wrapped his present.

Twenty-five minutes later, Hero was done and was currently hanging out in John’s room. She wasn’t going through his stuff but was in fact just looking around his room. There was The Office U.K. paraphernalia around it, and a couple of her favorite books like The Giver series by Lois Lowry and even Persuasion by Jane Austen. She would have never guessed him as a Jane Austen type of guy.

“Hero?”

“Oh gosh,” Hero jumped. “Surprise? Sorry I had this all planned and…you know what. Just step outside and then come back in and we can do this all over again.”

“Hero,” John smiled looking around the room. “Did you do this?”

Hero rolled her eyes. “No, Claudio did it. I just took the credit.”

“Haha. Very funny. But seriously. This was all you wasn’t it.”

“I mean Pedro tipped me off about your birthday but yeah, mostly me.”

“This is incredible,” he paused his face scrunching up as he observed the cake. “Why is there a piece missing?”

“Oh, I promised Pedro a piece of cake if he got you out of the house. I cut a piece out and left it on the counter so that we wouldn’t forget to give him a slice.”

“Ah, that explains the florist shop. Did you know that the flower candytuft, stinks? Like, really bad.”

Hero laughed as she cut out a slice of cake for John and another for herself, sticking a fork in both. 

“I never would’ve guessed. It sounds so innocent.”

John smiled. “Yeah well, it’s deadly. Not really just the scent made me want to puke.”

Hero moved across the room and put a movie into her laptop that she brought over. 

“Princess Bride? Really?”

Hero nodded excitedly. “Oh but first. Present. Open it.”

“As you wish,” John bowed then sat on the bed as Hero just rolled her eyes and handed him his present. “Sketching pencils. You actually bought me sketching pencils. I just jokingly mentioned it. I didn’t actually think-”

“Do you like it?” Hero asked apprehensively.

“Hero, this is the best present anyone has ever gotten me. It’s the only present anyone has actually gotten me this year, actually. Thank you.”

“Yeah, well. You’re my best friend. You deserve the best.”

John just looked at Hero, stupefied at her niceness. No one was that nice. Not even Hero. But John had been utterly wrong before.

“You’re my best friend too,” John smiled.

“Why, thank you. Now can we eat cake?”

John nodded. “Yes, Hero. You may eat cake.”

“Wait what?” Hero asked, getting the reference. Suddenly, John had smashed a piece of cake into her face.

“John. Freaking. Donaldson. You did not just do that.”

“I think I did.”

What ensued was twenty minutes of having a food fight. One that left John’s room completely covered in frosting and cake batter. Hero’s hair was caked, literally, with well cake and John’s was sticking up in all different directions. John’s bed was covered as well as Hero’s laptop but they didn’t seem to care. 

“John, are you okay?” Pedro and Balthazar asked as they opened the door to John’s cake-filled room.

“Ummm,” John laughed. “Yeah, we’re fine.”

“Mhmm, okay then.” Pedro then left awkwardly with Balthazar. 

“I should go,” Hero said, still laughing. “I’m a mess.”

“We both are. But yeah it’s already six and it’s going to take hours to clean this up.”

“You started it.”

“Nuh-uh,” John whined.

“Goodnight, John,” Hero smiled brushing cake-filled hair out of eyes. She picked up her laptop and her messy cardigan and waved as she went out the door.


	17. Song

“It’s stupid.”

“It’s not stupid.”

Hero and John were walking through the center of town aimlessly when they ran into a flash mob that ended in a guy proposing to his long-term girlfriend. At the end of it all, he serenaded her and she had awkwardly said no and ran away. 

“She didn’t even say yes,” John argued.

“Doesn’t matter,” Hero shrugged.

“Yes it does. What’s the point of grand gestures if they don’t work?”

“The point, Donaldson, is the meaning behind it all.”

Beside her, John rolled his eyes. Even though she had become more cynical and less positive, she was still a shining beacon of optimism. She still saw the best in everyone, even if she didn’t want to. 

“Yeah, but-”

“For all we know, they’re not financially stable and she said no because she was too scared it was going to be a 5-year engagement. Or, maybe the dude was cheating on his wife and she found out so she said no to his engagement. Or she doesn’t like being put on the spot and so she ran away embarrassed.”

“Or she was cheating on him,” John said pointing to the same girl kissing another man.

That shut Hero up. 

“Love is dead,” she muttered under her breath as they walked away. 

Nothing was said for a few minutes as they walked out of the center of town and back into more familiar territory. 

“Why? What on earth would compel her to cheat on someone who would hire a freaking flash mob for her own proposal? I just don’t get it.”

“That’s because you’re you.”

Hero stopped walking. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Now, here is when a normal guy would just apologize and admit their mistakes. They would change the subject and move on and not make the girl mad. Unfortunately, John is not just a normal guy and in fact told Hero what he meant.

“You’re so innocent. You don’t realize that there are people in the world who aren’t all angels and fairytales.”

“I am well aware thank you.”

“I’m just saying. Some people who look absolutely nice could just be a cheater. A total-”

“slut,” Hero suggests monotone.

John cleared his throat, his feet starting to awkwardly shift.

“That’s not what I meant, Hero.”

“I know,” Hero sighed. “It’s just. I wish the world were more, open and nice.”

“That’s just not how the world works.”

Hero just nodded and they started walking again, eventually reaching Hero’s house in minutes.

“You know,” Hero said turning to John. “Grand gestures, taking risks, they’re not stupid. If they work, they’re absolutely worth it. Good night, John”

Hero then turned back and ran inside.

“Night, Hero.”

 

The next day was a Sunday. Hero had no plans and was currently chilling in her room while listening to Flight and the Concords. She had taken her headphones off and ran downstairs to make some tea when she heard soft music playing. Quickly, she rushed outside to see John leaning against a tree with an old-fashioned boom box playing Mr. Blue Sky by the Electric Light Orchestra.

“Well,” he said as Hero approached. “Is it worth it? Me buying this stupid boom box and finding a freaking cassette tape and doing this for you.”

Hero was laughing at this point. John was wearing a brown trench coat and black pants. 

“Are you trying to re-create Say Anything?”

“Failing at it.”

“No, this is great. Hilarious but great.”

“Yeah, sure,” John smirked rolling his eyes.

“No seriously, this is the best thing ever. Can I take a picture?”

“Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up.”

Hero was basically on the ground, dying from laughter while John stood there looking at her annoyed.

“I’m sorry,” Hero gasped for air between syllables.

“No, you’re not.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Hero said finally able to breathe normally. “Want to go inside and order pizza?”

John nodded still embarrassed.

“It’s a good song. Nice choice,” Hero smiled as they walked in.

“It’s my favorite.”

“Me too.”

Hero looked up at John who was settling down on the stool. Suddenly, she felt closer to John than she had ever been before. Not because it was also her favorite song as well but because she couldn’t think of one person that would ever do a gesture like that for her. Well, except for John now. And some sort of epiphany occurred, maybe she liked John after all.


	18. Shopping

John ends up being the last one who finds out he likes Hero, ironically. Well, everyone suspected there was something between them. They hang out all the time and when they aren’t together they were texting. Of course, boy-girl friendships were so outlandish (sarcasm) that they couldn’t be just friends so everyone who saw them together automatically assumed that they were dating. Except, Hero and John were never aware of this. 

John didn’t know it but Hero eventually realized that she liked him. However, that was only one night ago so John’s timing wasn’t that bad. What occurred today was what triggered John’s awareness.

FLASHBACK

“Cora,” John pleaded. “I don’t want to be in here. Please, just let me wait outside while you finish.”

“No, John,” Cora denied. “I’m just buying some hair dye to piss of my parents. Just help me pick a color and we can leave.”

“I hope you’re going to pay for that before we leave.”

“Yes, idiot. Do I look like a moron?”

“Not the exact word I was thinking of but…” John muttered under his breath. 

He didn’t know that Cora had heard and she automatically raised the bottle of dye in her hand and smacked him semi-hard on the back of his head, the contents spilling slightly onto his hair.

“Cora,” he warned. “Did that get into my hair?”

“Oops,” she smiled and took a picture with her phone of John’s disgusted face. 

“What color was that?”

“Fuchsia,” she shrugged.

“What?!?!”

“Calm down, it’s all the rage today anyway.”

John, in fact, did not calm down and instead was in midst of a freak out. 

“Cora, my hair, will turn pink in 45 minutes. It might turn in green if we do not hurry to wash it out. So I suggest you pick a color and run before I knock down that display,” John demanded, pointing to a table of nail polish.

Cora complied and picked a neon purple color and paid for it quickly as to not piss of John more. 

“Hurry up, Cora”

“John there’s a sink back there just go wash that strip of hair and stop whining.”

Rolling his eyes, John trudged to the back room to wash his hair almost screaming when he found a strip of his hair bright pink. 

“Cora, are you done?”

“Yep,” she said grabbing her phone and turning around quickly just to snap a picture. “Okay, now I’m done.”

The cashier just smiled and waved at John as she held back a laugh. John just rolled his eyes, silently cursing Cora. 

“Who are you sending that to?” John asked when he finally caught up to her. 

“Your girlfriend,” she answered simply.

John stopped walking. “I don’t have a girlfriend.”

“You mean you and Hero aren’t-” 

He shook his head awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. It was a nervous tick that he had picked up from his mum growing up. 

“But I saw you guys dancing at the party a few weeks ago. Like, really close,” Cora stuttered. “What? You’re telling me you felt nothing.” John nodded and walked away hoping to make Cora change subjects. “Hero told me about the grand gesture thing you did yesterday.”

“I was just trying to make a point.”

“A point that you made by recreating an incredibly romantic scene from a romantic movie.”

“That wasn’t the point I was trying to make, Cora”

“I know that, John. But don’t you think you could’ve made the exact same point but without the romance. Why’d you choose that specific gesture? You could’ve just made a bunch of paper stars and gave it to her.”

They had reached Cora’s house by that point and Cora had ran inside, leaving John alone with his thoughts.

 

Ann had taken John shopping the following weekend. During the week, John hadn’t really talked to Hero or Cora. He wasn’t avoiding them on purpose but Hero had this huge art project and ate lunch in the art room and Cora was off gallivanting with her new boytoy so John was left to his own devices. He hadn’t really minded in all honesty. He had been lost in thought the whole week over what Cora had said and implied and John didn’t think he was ready to date, especially not Hero. She was too, important for John to hurt.

But back to the main point, Ann had taken John shopping. And while he had been good on Friday at keeping Hero off his mind, he couldn’t help but keep thinking of her as he shopped.

He would pass by a boutique and there would be a mannequin with knee-high socks and a frilly dress and John instantly thought of Hero. He would be dragged into a music shop with Ann and she would shop him a vinyl edition of Electric Light Orchestra. He would pass a bakery with chocolate cake in the window and he would just flashback to her birthday. Mostly though, he would see things in stores that he knew she would love. Like a new poster of TFIOS, a first edition copy of Frankenstein or an Into the Woods soundtrack. 

END FLASHBACK

That brought him to now. Why was he always thinking of Hero? Well, he cares about her a lot, more than anyone he’s ever met besides his real mom. Then is it platonic or in a romantic way? That one he really couldn’t answer. He wanted to, he really did. He would love just to know how he felt. But he didn’t and that killed him. So he did something he’d never thought he’d ever do. He re-watched the videos.

It was actually pretty painful to see him back then. And while it hadn’t felt like he had changed, he knows that he did. There was pretty substantial evidence that he wasn’t the same boy he was when she had started filming these videos. 

But then he got to the makeup video. The one with her and Claudio and it was just so…cute. So sickeningly cute. He felt jealous. It wasn’t one of those possessive jealousness but maybe more accurately one that made him want to talk to her, made him want her to smile at him and not Claudio. 

And then it hit him like a ton of bricks. He was in love with Hero. He didn’t just like her. He loved her. Because not only had she forgiven him within a blink of an eye, she had made him feel like he mattered and that he belonged, she had made him want to be better, he doesn’t feel completely whole without her and if that’s not love then, he doesn’t really know what is.


	19. Letters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really proud of this chapter. I hope you guys really like it. Please comment what you think!

Hero is a worrier. Every little thing that you could tell her, she has the ability to take the words and just twist it into a negative. Finding the worst parts about the subject, that’s Hero for you. And it’s ironic because she doesn’t seem like the person to do it. It’s somewhat of a guilty pleasure for her if she’s truly honest. For some reason she finds comfort in the negative. The comfort doesn’t last for long.

One of the things Hero hates worrying about is her crushes. In total, she’s had five. One when she was seven on a boy named Josh, another when she was nine on a boy named Anthony. She had an innocent one week crush on Pedro when he had first moved here. And of course, Claudio was her regret-crush, the one that she wishes never happened. But the one that she worries about the most is John.

John is different than her other crushes. He means more to her in some ways and that scares the shit out of her. It’s not some flimsy crush that she has fooled herself into believe has hope. It’s a crush she has slowly become invested in. That’s what scares her the most. She’s so invested in her relationship with John that she’s afraid that if he doesn’t like her back then she loses her best friend. She can’t lose her best friend. She can’t lose John.

On the other hand, Hero is a writer. Her writing confesses her thoughts. To her, her stories are just her thoughts as told through the minds of other people. That’s why she’s so protective over her journal. If someone reads it, it’s as if they’re reading her mind. 

Her writing comes in handy when she worries (Which is very often). Instead of embedding her thoughts into the lives of her characters, she transforms them into letters. Letters she’ll never send. Letters addressed to her mind. This is why she loves the book To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before. She can relate to the main character. She understands the therapy of writing letters no one will read.

The week she has a huge art assignment, she uses it as an out to avoid John. She doesn’t want to talk to him. She’s afraid that if she does she’ll just blurt out her feelings. That’s what she doesn’t want to happen. When she finally reaches the quietness of the art room, she remembers why she loved her solitary lunches. There’s no one trying to pry into your thoughts, just you. Hero finds comfort in that more than she finds comfort worrying.

She’s supposed to be working on an art project. She ends up writing a letter. She pours out her thoughts on to paper. 

When lunch is over, she slips the letter into her messenger bag. She specifically puts it into a zippered pocket, just to make sure it doesn’t accidently fall out. She sure as hell doesn’t want that.

Later that night when she gets home, she unfolds the paper and lays it out onto her desk, smoothing out the folds.

Hero ends up changing into her blue birthday dress. It’s a spur of the moment decision and when she looks in the mirror and spins around, she’s glad that she did. She feels pretty. She doesn’t feel any sense of sadness or regret. She actually feels empowered.

When she looks at herself in the mirror again, she doesn’t see the girl who was gasping for breath because her lungs had failed her. She sees a girl who has embraced the past. She sees someone who’s brave. That’s what surprises her most. 

An hour or two later, she takes off the dress. Not because it’s making her sick to be wearing it again but because she just wants tea and music right now, specifically Taylor Swift, and a dress isn’t the most comfortable attire. So she snuggles up in the giraffe onesie that Bea got her as a ‘remember-me-when-you-wear-this-present’ when she left. It matches Bea’s and suddenly Hero feels even better than she did an hour or two ago.

Five minutes later, Hero is back in her room. Her tea is made and she’s snuggled up in a fuzzy blanket and her onesie. She reads her letter once more before settling down.

 

Dear John,

It’s like that Nicholas Sparks’s movie I know you hate. It doesn’t matter, you won’t read this. You shouldn’t be anyway. If you are, then I’m probably going to be in hiding by the time I find out. Anyway, this isn’t the point and I’m already rambling and that’s not good. Maybe I should start over.

Okay, second times a charm, right?

So John, I like you. No, I probably love you. But the thing is, I don’t know what love is anymore. I mean I love my mums, but that’s different. And I thought I loved Claudio and I didn’t. It was more of this weird infatuation that…isn’t important. Back to the point, I love you. I think I do. And in a perfect world, you would love me back. 

I think…I think I sabotage every good thing that happens to me. Deep down, I knew the Claudio thing was not going to last. I knew that it was going downhill the moment we kissed. There was nothing. I didn’t even feel a connection. I sabotaged our relationship by letting it go on. 

I’m afraid I’ll sabotage ours as well. And that’s the last thing I want. I don’t want to lose you. I’ve just become friends with you. Good friends. Best friends. Bosom buddies (sorry I really love Anne of Green Gables). And I’ve never truly been in love. And you’re too important to me to sabotage. To hurt. I can’t do that to you. I don’t want to take a chance and have it fail. I don’t want to make things awkward for us and for Cora. And even if you do like me back, I don’t want to break up and lose something amazing that we have. I just can’t do that to you, of all people.

I know you may think that you may deserve that. That you deserve to be hurt by me. I know that you think I need revenge for what you did to me. But we were sixteen. We were over-dramatic and idiots and didn’t know what we wanted. I’m telling you right now. And you better believe me. 

You don’t deserve to be hurt.

I believe that with all my heart. You don’t deserve to be hurt, you of all people don’t deserve to be hurt. I know you think you do but trust me you don’t. 

You may think that I’m magical, but that’s not true. You’re the magical one here. You’re the one who turned yourself around, you’re the one who has fought through the sadness. Please don’t think I’m the magical one. You might as well be called Harry.

Oh gosh, that was just a terrible joke wasn’t it? I’m so sorry.

I know that you’ll never read this. I know that I will never let you read this. But if by chance you stumble upon this letter. Please, believe everything I say. And if you only take one thing away from this, remember this:

You mean the world to me. I don’t know how you managed to do it in four months but you mean the world to me. 

Love, Hero Duke.


	20. Words

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short little drabble of a chapter trying to add suspense.

John has always been a fan of words. It sounds stupid because words are such a common thing that no one seems to appreciate them but John loves them. And it’s funny because he’s not really one to talk at all. He talks to Hero plenty, more than he ever talked to Cora and definitely more than he had ever talked to Pedro. He’s pretty sure that his classmates have never even heard his voice. It’s not like he cares, honestly he doesn’t, but it’s just a weird thing to think about. 

Since he doesn’t communicate much, he’s always sure that what he says is the truth and nothing but the truth. Mostly because the one person he talked to more than Hero in his life was his real mom, and she never tolerated any lying whatsoever. 

Although John tries to only speak the truth, he feels like he hears nothing but lies. And even though he loves words, he’s also grown scared of them. He always compares it to somewhat of a vicious cycle. 

Hero’s different though. When he talks to her, all he hears is the truth. And he can’t help but feel a little intimidated by her obvious innocence, even though she’s not really innocent at all anymore not since she turned sixteen. 

Being with Hero all the time makes it hard to put back the barriers he had built over the years. The ones that can instantly detect lies and truths. And he ends up believing everything that people tell him. However, that only lasts an hour because he eventually comes to his senses. But it’s a peaceful hour while it lasts. 

Despite what others think, he listens to words. Really listens. Not some pre-rehearsed nod and repeating questions, that’s not John. It’s more of a slow understanding nod, only used when he finds it absolutely necessary.

He doesn’t like writing, he likes reading, he likes reciting, but he doesn’t like writing. It feels too forced and rehearsed and edited, which he guesses is the actual point of a published book. Still, it doesn’t mean he has to like it.

But yeah, words mean something to him. Written words mean less. That is until he finds Hero’s letter by mistake.


	21. Food

John and Hero become skilled at ignoring their feelings. It’s the only way they can get through the day with each other and not explode. But obviously something feels like it has changed. It’s subtle but they can notice it. Again, they choose not to and instead push it into the back of their minds. 

They still hang out, but it’s a little more awkward from time to time. When John pulls Hero by the arm to show her something, Hero feels like she’s going to throw up. When Hero smirks, John wants to just run away. The only time they don’t feel as weird is when they have food near.

It sounds crazy, but it’s actually true. They feel less awkward when there’s something to do. 

On Friday night, they do they’re usual hang-out pizza, movie time. It’s Hero’s pick for movies tonight and John is off on pizza duty which means he has to cut the pizza and put it onto plates as well as pour the soda into cups. 

“John,” Hero calls from the other room. He ends up getting scared and spills soda across her island. 

“What?” He yells back, trying to sop up the mess he’s made. 

“Can you get my French book from my room?”

“Why?”

“Extra measure?”

He nods even though Hero can’t see it and runs upstairs to her room. He’s never really been up there, only seeing it through her videos. It’s somewhat strange to see it in person since it’s the whole four walls and not the normal two. Still, for some reason it takes him by surprise to see her room.

The French book is easy to find. It’s pretty much in the open. It’s only hidden by a few papers on her desk. He knows this gives him a few minutes at most to kind of just look around. And he was going to, except his name catches his eye as he’s grabbing her book.

“Dear John,” he mumbles under his breath.

Despite his conscience telling him not to, he slides the paper out from under the others and reads it. And when he’s done, he doesn’t really know what he just read. So he re-reads and re-reads and-

“John?” Hero yells from downstairs. “If you’re having trouble it’s on my desk.”

She’s still blissfully unaware, he thinks. He reads it one last time, focusing on her words and their meanings. He knows he’s running out of time but he can’t help but read it again and again. It takes a few minutes, but he pulls himself away leaving the letter behind in the exact spot it was in before. 

He manages to make it through the night completely normal. But when he gets home, he can’t seem to get himself together. He feels all jumbled and weird and his whole body feels like jello. And so naturally, he leaves and walks to Cora’s.

It’s about twelve in the morning and he’s walked across the entire town of Messina to get here. To get to Cora’s house. He still feels like throwing up and his legs are completely numb but he can’t go back now.

“John?” Cora asks, rubbing her eyes. 

“Can I come in?”

“You look like shit,” she mumbles. “But yeah sure. What happened? Got run over by a bus or something?”

“You know your support is overwhelming.”

“Says the person who basically invited himself into my house.”

“Cora,” John whines. He really needs a friend. And right now, Hero’s not an option. So he really needs Cora right now. (in the most platonic way of course)

“Fine,” she relents, finally getting the message that he’s not in the mood for teasing.

“I like Hero,” he blurts as soon as they enter the kitchen.

Cora doesn’t say anything just opens her freezer and scoops some ice cream for her and John. One scoop of chocolate and one of vanilla.

“Obviously,” she says after a moment or two. 

“Obviously?”

“I’m sorry, like I said before, were you at the same party that Hero and I went to? Because it was pretty clear at that moment something was there. Whether you both knew it or not.”

“I just don’t,” he pauses thinking. “I don’t see how we would work.”

“I know, I prepared for this.”

“What?”

“Ice cream,” she says simply, hoping he’ll understand. 

“I’m chocolate and Hero’s vanilla, right?”

“Well, do you want to be vanilla?”

John shrugs and then thinks for a moment before just shaking his head, knowing that it’s more appropriate for him to be the darker ice cream.

“Okay good. Now, you are chocolate and she’s vanilla right?”

“We just reviewed it.”

“Shhhh,” Cora whispers.

“Fine,” John whispers back. “Yes, Hero’s vanilla, I’m chocolate.”

“Okay, now chocolate and vanilla are very different in flavors. Do you agree?”

“Yeah,” John nods, not really knowing what she’s doing.

“When first looked at, they might not seem like they go well together.”

Cora trails off, taking a spoon and scooping a piece from John’s chocolate and putting it into her vanilla ice cream. Then doing the same with hers. 

“But together, they are magic,” Cora smiles. She takes another spoon and sticks it into John’s bowl before taking her own and eating a piece.

“You could’ve just said that we go well together and you support us,” John points out.

“It’s a metaphor, John. Appreciate the fact I came up with this on the spot, or I will kick you out. And I’m keeping the ice cream.”

He holds up his hands and shakes his head. “Yeah, you’re way was much better.”

“Thank you,” Cora smiles again.


	22. Bath

Soon enough, they’re back to avoiding each other. It’s not fully intentional, really. It is for John at first. After his talk with Cora, he still feels all jumbled inside and he knows he really does need another break from Hero. So at first, that’s what he plans to do, avoid Hero. But then he finds himself missing her, and at that point he manages to get really really busy. The teacher’s pack on homework and Ann is stressed from work so in return, John helps out with some of her errands. And he becomes busy. 

Being busy doesn’t exactly keep John from thinking about Hero though. And he finds himself thinking about her a lot. Not just her though, Cora’s analogy with ice cream and most often, Hero’s letter.

He knows that Hero has always been honest. She’s practically an open book. But when he read her letter, he found it so raw and compelling that he really didn’t know what to do then. Heck, he doesn’t really know what to do now.

He likes her, he knows that much. He knows that he likes her, loves her even. And it’s definitely easier knowing that she feels the same way. But it’s not as if he can just ask her out right away. They’re both pretty broken beyond belief and they’ve gotten so good at hiding it, that John almost forgets. Almost. More times than not, he remembers.

Ann’s errand aren’t all unnecessary, but some are still weird even for Ann. His latest one is to take pictures of different bathtubs in local shops around Messina. Ann’s a set designer for the MAT, which is the Messina Art Theatre. It’s a decent paying job and since Ann’s getting better and bigger jobs, she’s recruited John to help. 

He’s in charge of taking pictures. And he really likes to take pictures of them too. Not just baths, but also other inanimate objects. He likes testing the lighting and seeing the different angles. It gives him a weird sort of outlet to help him let go of his thoughts about Hero. And while taking pictures doesn’t exactly get rid of them, it definitely helps when he gets too caught up.

“That’s my favorite,” a salesman says, politely cutting into John’s photo session.

He knows that the man hasn’t done anything and will most likely not do anything but he can’t help but take a subtly two steps back before replying.

“It’s alright,” John shrugs.

“The latest model, top of the line.”

John nods knowing that the salesman doesn’t actually mean to annoy him and it’s technically in his job description to ask how people are doing. That doesn’t mean he has to like it.

“It’s called the Duke collection. White and modern and sleek,” the salesman explains smiling.

John, who was drinking water at the time coughs. Bringing along some of his water that was in his throat. 

“You know, it was a real Hero to us when our store was getting shut down. It helped us stay alive another year.”

“Excuse me, what can you repeat that?”

“Yes, this is our Duchess set, it’s our best-selling one, like our superman of Marvel, if you will,” the salesman reiterates his voice trailing off as John stops listening.

If John thinks having it “bad” for Hero then was hard. He realizes now that it Is nothing to how John thinks he feels about her now.


	23. Hero

Despite Hero and John’s epic saga, life around them moves on. Messing High is having the first dance of the year and luckily it happens to be placed a month after John and Hero realize they have feelings for each other. 

It’s weird though, their relationship. It always fluctuates and changes. One week they’re talking and the next one of them has gone radio silent, leaving the other to fend for themselves. It switches between the two constantly and Hero has gotten sick of it.

So on a whim, Hero decides to be her own Hero for once. It’s a dramatic change. But she justifies it with her ever present resolution that she made at the beginning of the year. She hadn’t forgot about it, she just had it on hold for the right time. The right time came sooner than expected.

Since the dance was announced, Hero had been pushing the thought to the back of her mind. This week, John and her weren’t talking. He hadn’t even glanced her way since the week before and Hero was exhausted from playing this weird flirting game that they were playing. In her mind, John wasn’t showing any interest at all and to support herself she buys one ticket. Only one, she’s taking herself out on a date that night,

She doesn’t mention the dance or the fact that she bought a ticket in the first place to John. To be honest, she had tried to give him hints here and there, trying to coax him into the subject. It never worked, either he had become aware to the plan or we erased our own data on the computer about her screen.

“Going to the dance Hero?” she finds herself talking to Claudio one day when she hadn’t talked to John. 

It was a weird change to talk to someone besides her bestfriend and in a way it was refreshing because she wasn’t holding her breath afraid to mess up. She wanted all this drama and weirdness with John to go away.

“Yeah,” she answered simply. Even though new people were refreshing, it didn’t mean Hero had to automatically like talking to Claudio.

“John?” Claudio guessed.

“Nope,” Hero smirks popping the ‘p’ at the end.

“Who then?”

“With myself,” Hero answers simply as if she expects Claudio to understand. He doesn’t.

“You can’t go to the dance alone!”

“Says who? The population committee. Oh no!” Hero deadpans. “Whatever shall I do.”

After that, Hero doesn’t hear what Claudio has to say. She’s already walked several locker blocks away from where her and Claudio were talking. And even though it was refreshing, it left her out of breath as well. One she didn’t like. She’d much rather be talking to John.

 

He hears about it from Cora. She mentions Hero going to the dance offhand, hoping he wouldn’t notice. He did. It bothers him at first but he realizes that she’s going alone and suddenly he magically feels better again. 

“You should ask her,” Cora drawls slowly while her and John are in study hall.

“Who?” John asks sarcastically. He knows she means Hero, he just won’t admit it.

“Hero.”

“She already has a ticket,” John reminds Cora. 

She shrugs and returns to her studying for a moment before getting distracted. She begins to draw doodles in the side of her notes creating ship names for John Donaldson and Hero Duke. It takes her a whole five minutes before she thinks of Donalduke, and it sticks.

He knows that Hero has this resolution to be brave. He knows that she’s completing it for her own sanity as well as John’s but only because he’s the most calm around Hero. So he has become comfortable when it comes to Hero being brave.

“John,” he hears Hero ask from around the corner. 

It’s the awkward silent week this week and so seeing Hero terrifies him beyond belief.

“Yes,” John answers, clearing his throat.

“Would you be my date to the dance?” Hero blurts.

If there has ever been a more awkward moment, it had been outshined during this one section. And although Hero has taken the leap of faith and asked, John has to take one too and answer.


	24. Pizza

The silence is deafening. Hero is just standing there awkwardly shifting her weight from one foot to the other waiting for John’s response. Awkward doesn’t even begin to describe how the atmosphere is right now. Cora could quite possible be able to just stick her hand out and feel how awkward it is. And they’re all just frozen where they stand. Or in Cora’s case sit. 

John doesn’t even attempt to look Hero in the eye. He’s too weirded out at the moment to do anything but just stare at the ground. But he can see Hero’s feet shifting and he knows she’s getting impatient.

“That’s a no then,” she mumbles under her breath. 

He can’t even bring himself to say anything. He wants to tell Hero how he likes her and of course he’ll go with her to the dance but for some reason he can’t say anything at all. 

“Hero,” Cora starts to say but Hero shakes her head, just enough that John can see from where he stands. 

“I’m sorry,” Hero says speaking up. John can hear her voice shaking. Her hands shaking too. He wants to reach out and help. But he just can’t. He can’t move anything. “If I made you uncomfortable in anyway, I’m truly sorry.”

And then there is silence again. 

Cora watches sadly as Hero retreats back down the hallway. She can see her start to wipe away tears even if she only sees her back. Her heart breaks a little. This isn’t someone who deserves to be hurt. This is someone who deserves the world but it always finds it being just out of her reach. Just dangled close enough that she can’t grab it. Cora wishes it were different. She truly does.

It takes a minute before anyone moves again. Hero’s gone now but John’s not moving so Cora moves for him. She stands and takes a few steps towards him before raising her hand and hitting John hard against the back of his head.

“Imbecile,” she sneers at him before sitting down again.

When John finally regains his senses, it’s as if nothing has happened. Cora’s still mindlessly chewing her apple and reading and Hero’s not here so maybe he just dreamt it. Except he didn’t dream it because here’s Cora sitting and reading but her body is rigid, faced directly away from him. As if telling him he’s not worthy of her presence. He has to agree, he probably isn’t. 

“Cora,” he tries to talk.

“No, look I know you’re all awkward and stuff and I know we’ve both made mistakes pertaining to Hero. But she does not deserve this. You like her and she likes you and you freaking turn her down.”

“I didn’t turn her down!” 

“But you didn’t answer her either! Come on, John. We both know that Hero deserves to be loved. And we all know you love her.”

“I couldn’t say anything! I literally couldn’t!”

“I don’t care! Don’t just act like you hurt yourself, because it’s not just you, it’s Hero too.”

“Don’t you think I know that, Cora!”

“If you do, you sure don’t act like it. I’m leaving,” Cora spat, getting up and walking away. Before leaving completely, she hit him one more time with her book.

 

Meanwhile, Hero had taken to crying in the bathroom stall. Her tears had soaked through both her sweater and her dress. She had tried to keep her composure around John and Cora and she succeeded for the most part. But it hadn’t taken long before she broke down in tears once more.

“Hero?” she heard a voice call from outside her stall.

“Yeah, who is it?”

“Verges, I saw you crying and I know we’re not good friends, but you look like you could use one.”

And Hero didn’t know if it was because she missed the old part of her life that Verges was a part of or if it was because hearing someone reaching out to her for once but she ran out of her stall and catapulted herself into Verges’ arms. 

Verges didn’t expect Hero to just run into her arms like that. She expected her to brush off her offer. 

“Oh, Hero,” Verges sighed. “Come on, school’s ending soon anyway. Let’s skip”

It wasn’t a suggestion Hero was expecting, but she was too sad and helpless feeling to argue. And surprisingly, they skipped seamlessly. No one ever realizing that they had left.

“Pizza, okay?” Verges asked gently.

Hero nods again, silent and soon enough they had made it to this pizza parlor that she had never seen before. From Hero’s perspective, Verges seemed like she knew the parlor’s owner because it took less than five minutes to get food, that and they didn’t seem to mind two teenagers eating there in the middle of a school day. 

“Thank you,” Hero mumbled, noticing for the first time that her voice was raspy. 

“No need. I’m glad you accepted my help,” Verges smiled.

Her smile was so contagious that Hero had even smiled back, if only for a second. 

“This is so good, this pizza,” Hero spoke after a minute.

“It’s my family’s special recipe,” Verges informed cheerfully.

“It’s amazing.”

“Thanks. Do you wanna talk about what happened?”

“I got rejected by the guy I love. There’s nothing else to say.”

“Maybe not,” Verges shrugged. “But maybe you could try again. Maybe timing was off this time.”

Hero didn’t answer she instead shrugged it off going back to her pizza once more.

“Try again?”

“Yeah, because I know you. You might have changed but Hero, you’re braver than you know. And trying again might be the bravest thing you could do right now.”

Hero looked up. Maybe she could try again. But not now. Pizza was her only comfort right now. And maybe Verges, her newfound friend.


	25. Coffee

Of all the coffee shops in town, Café Marie was Hero’s favorite. Her moms were best friends with Marie, the owner, in high school and Hero had spent many days over at the café after school when she was little. Her moms were always working during the day so Marie was Hero’s babysitter until she was old enough to stay home alone. Once she stopped going to Marie’s she never really went back. Only in times when she really needed to feel like she was back in her childhood. 

This had only happened once or twice in the last couple years. Once when she was scared she would fail her exams and the second when her birthday party happened.

So here she was standing outside of her second home. She hadn’t been back here in almost a decade. She also hadn’t told anyone about this place. Only her moms and she knew about it. She would’ve told John, she had considered it more times than not but each time she tried she couldn’t bring herself to do it. This was her second home and her place she felt most comfortable. She wasn’t ready to let anyone know about it. It was a good thing too.

One breath in. One breath out. That’s what Hero was telling herself. 

It was weird because she was never worried when coming here. Marie’s was a safehouse. But after the last couple days, she found herself thinking that nowhere was safe. She would constantly be reminded of John and/or see John. 

Even though she knew Marie’s was mostly safe, she was still scared. There was always a possibility, that’s what she had learned over these past couple days.

Holding her breath, she stepped in instantly comforted by the smell of the Marie’s floral perfume. Looking around she took in the location again. The plaid tablecloths, old rustic tables, the coffee/floral smell that surrounded her it was all so familiar and comforting.

“Hero Duke, love,” Marie smiled. She was a petite lady, definitely shorter than Hero, and her smile was basically the sun. “Too long, hun. Too long.”

She kissed both of Hero’s cheeks before taking a cookie out of the bakery showcase and handing it to Hero along with a small teacup of milk. 

“I missed you, Marie,” Hero giggled from Marie’s hair sprayed hair tickling her face.

“Ditto, honey. Tea? Coffee? Sandwich?”

“I need one of your specials,” Hero sighed. She was still smiling but from the hand running through her hair, Marie knew that she was emotionally in trouble.

“Of course, hun, I’m here for you. I’m still giving you some cookies and tea, you’re getting thin,” Marie insisted, pinching Hero’s cheeks once more.

Hero faked a smile, something that had become a habit over the last year. She wiped it off almost immediately, catching herself. She hated when she did that. Marie didn’t take long and soon enough she was back some cookies and some English breakfast tea. 

“Thank you,” Hero mumbled.

“So, should I start or do you want to do the honors?” Marie asked taking a mug from under the counter and pouring strong coffee into it. 

Hero snorted into her tea and smiled a genuine smile at Marie. 

“I guess I’ll start,” Hero stalled a second and took a bite of her cookie. “With my birthday,” Hero sheepishly muttered, just loud enough and clear enough for Marie to hear.

Marie shook her head. Hero had told her about her birthday before. She had included John, and Claudio. Specifically, John. She told Marie everything. How lonely she had been feeling after Bea left, how she had faded into the background until New Year’s Eve. How John had made her feel like she mattered. How she did the same to him. How she had accidentally fallen in love with him. How she had truly believed he had loved her too.

“I put myself out there,” Hero stuttered, tears finally filling her eyes again. “And then, I just get shot down.”

“Oh, hun,” Marie sniffled. She ran around the outside of the counter and hugged Hero tightly. “You are going to get hurt, my dear.” She took Hero’s face in her hands. The tears started to flow freely. “In your life, you will get hurt more times than this. But whatever you do, build yourself up first. And then worry about what everyone thinks about you. No one matters more than you and only you.”

Hero laughed remembering a line from Romeo and Juliet. “There was a story of more woe than Juliet and her Romeo, right?”

Marie laughed too. “Dear, you are a special one.”

“Thanks, Marie,” Hero said, rolling her eyes. 

“It’s the truth. Now I’m calling you moms. You’re staying here for the rest of the day. I don’t trust the world to be nice to you,” Marie smiled and kissed Hero’s cheek once and went to the closest phone.

Hero nodded. “Can I have some coffee?”

“Not tea, hun?”

“No, coffee,” Hero smiled. Thinking of one her debates with John. He had told her that being British doesn’t actually qualify him for actually liking tea. She had argued that tea was the best thing in the world and it doesn’t matter where anyone’s from to love it. He had said he may or may not like coffee better. She had responded by saying that she would try coffee when pigs flew.

“So, coffee?” a voice all too familiar asked behind her.

“Mhmm,” Hero nodded, not daring to turn around.

“Funny,” the voice laughed. “I thought you wouldn’t drink that until pigs flew.”

“Looks like it,” Hero deadpanned. 

Hero finished her cup and swiveled around meeting the eyes of the infamous John Donaldson.

“I never even told you about this place. How are you here?”

“Messina isn’t that big, Hero,” John smirked.

“I really don’t want to talk to you. Please, John.”

“Yes.”

“What?”

“Yes, I’ll go to the dance with you.”

Hero rolled her eyes, clearly unimpressed. “Wow, I’m honored. Go away.”

“Hero, trust me when I say, I honestly couldn’t say anything.”

“Save it for no one,” Hero sneered. 

“I’m not lying.”

“I know. But this,” Hero said gesturing between her and John. “is obviously not working.”

John rubbed the back of his neck, trying to find another way to convince Hero. 

“Then we don’t go to the dance,” John suggested.

“What?”

“Can we just start over?”

“No, John,” Hero yelled annoyed. “We can’t. We started over before, and it didn’t work. As you can see.”

“I read your letter.”

“You what?”

“And when you asked me out I couldn’t stop thinking about what you said and how you felt and I wanted to tell you how I felt and I just choked.”

“John, stop. I can’t. And I hate coffee,” Hero stammered.

Before he could protest, Hero took her stuff, kissed Marie goodbye and left.


	26. Dancing (The Dance)

Hero had kept her ticket. She had debated for hours after her run-in with John whether she still wanted to go and whether it was still worth it. She almost decided it was. However, she also knew that John had still bought his ticket and if she went then there was a strong likelihood that he would be there too. She didn’t want that either.

It went on like this throughout the night and until dawn the next morning. By that time she hadn’t decided anything anyway and she was pretty much asleep. Something happened though, suddenly Hero had a small epiphany of some sorts that made her change her mind. She didn’t even know what the epiphany was, she couldn’t tell anyone who asked, but she ended up choosing to go the dance. She had already paid for it anyway. 

The dance was two days away. If this was Hero two years ago going to the dance, she would’ve asked her moms to invest hundreds of money into everything: her hair, her dress, her accessories and her shoes. All of it would have been top designer. But this was Hero now, and she wasn’t as concerned with how she looked as she did with just showing up. 

On the night of the dance it took Hero a total of three hours down to the dot to get ready. She definitely hadn’t planned for what she was going to wear or look like. She was just winging it. 

It was a simple dress with ¾ length sleeves and a boat neck but it had silver stripes alternating with white ones. She had considered wearing her blue birthday dress, just to make people look. She decided against it. 

Her hair ended up in a messy bun that looked slightly put together. It took way more bobby pins than it should have but it stayed together so Hero ignored the pokiness of the pins in her head. 

By the time she had finished it was 7:00. She didn’t have time to eat but she didn’t worry, there would most likely be food there and she was guessing she would be fine until then. But for now she had to leave or she would be late, and if Hero hated anything more than Claudio it was to be fashionably late. 

 

The dance was already underway when she arrived. A lot of people had ended up going despite its cheesy theme, lame word art posters and cliché decorations. A lot of people had also ended up going with dates. Single Hero, was among the minority. 

She didn’t catch it at first. She didn’t catch John at first, to be specific. He had always had that ability to fade into the background unnoticed. However she had somehow mustered up the ability to always find him. She almost didn’t catch him trying to make his way over to her. Maybe if she didn’t, she would’ve let him talk.

“John don’t,” Hero stammered. Everyone who heard could see her hands starting to shake. Anyone around her could hear her voice wavering. John could see this too.

“One more chance, Hero, please,” John begged.

They weren’t exactly causing a scene but their conversation hadn’t exactly gone unnoticed either.

“John I told you, I’m done with giving second and third chances. They just don’t work out. I’m sorry,” Hero whispered. 

“I know what you’re doing. You’re trying to fade into the background and slip away unnoticed until the end of the year when you can leave this town and everyone in it. And no one will question and no one will remember you. That what’s you’re aiming to do right? To fade away?”

Hero didn’t respond. She didn’t look up. She didn’t move. 

“You deserve the world. I’ve known this since your birthday and the days after it. You deserve the world. And I know I can’t give it to you but neither will fading away. I don’t think you can ever fade away. You’re this huge bright spot of hope that shines on this town and I think if you disappear then people will notice,” John spoke with this confidence Hero had never really seen. “I know what that feels like. To be ignored and to feel like not participating is the right thing and I’m telling it’s not. I know that you even though you don’t want to admit it, you want to disappear. You don’t think you’re good enough. And if you date me, then you just get pulled out into the spotlight.”

She nodded slightly, confirming John’s suspicions. They were drawing a crowd slowly. Claudio within it.

“You can’t do this,” Hero sighed. “You can’t turn me down, apologize and give me this grand gesture expecting everything to be fixed. This isn’t TV or a movie or a Nicholas Sparks’ novel. This is reality and I don’t know, we never ever seem to work. Maybe we should just stop. Be friends, you know?”

“But I can’t just be your friend, Hero!” John yelled, both of them extremely frustrated. Hero had flinched at his yelling and John noticed stepping back a few steps to give her space. “Please, just give me an answer.”

Hero didn’t say anything. John waited. Hero stood there. John asked again, Hero turned away.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. 

It was as if they had missed another chance. Another opportunity. Again. It killed Hero to not say anything when in her mind she had so much to say. So much to confess and tell and question. And nothing came out.

John sighed, knowing she basically returned to him what he did to her. It was odd feeling, giving up. But that’s what he was doing. She had gave him the ball he tossed it back and now it was just there. Not moving, no one reaching for a chance to make things right.

Except that’s not what really happened. At first it did, John and Hero stood there for a good minute coming to the realization that maybe giving up was the best choice and offer they had. But as John walked past Hero, she had automatically grabbed onto his wrist, pulling him back around to face her. 

“I, uh, I understand what you meant when you couldn’t say anything now,” Hero stuttered. Her voice was more confident but it was still at the same time unsure. 

“Is that a yes?” 

“It’s a maybe.”

“So a no?”

“It’s a let’s give a shot and see what happens. A trial run if you will.”

The crowd had dispersed, uninterested in the apologizing and more focused and willingly to observe the drama and the fighting. Neither John nor Hero noticed they were caught up in their negotiation of sorts.

“Deal,” John smiled.

It was a genuine one, Hero could tell. She returned the same back if not brighter. And somehow the world felt like it shifted in a way. Everything to both was better and happier and they felt like they weren’t constricted or defined by anything. They felt happy. Together. They felt happy together.

And time moved on. The dance continued. People forgot that Hero and John were even fighting in the first place. They didn’t care. They liked it better that way. Half faded away, half in the limelight. They were okay with that.


	27. What Happened At Midnight

The dance was boring to say the least. After the huge (not really) commotion from John and Hero, nothing had really happened. It was kind of a letdown. The music wasn’t good after the first half and hour, and the food that Hero expected had given four people food poisoning. So the dance was a bust.

Hero and John ended up leaving early anyway. Since there was no edible food, Hero had been practically starving since she had arrived and John wanted to ever since the moment he had put himself out there. Yeah, grand gestures, not really his thing.

They would’ve said goodbye to people but Cora was busy spiking the punch and they didn’t really have any other close friends. So they left and went back to Café Marie’s. It was late but Marie was always welcoming and she let John and Hero in without a question. John noticed the disapproving look from Marie but he couldn’t really blame her. He had been a jerk most of his life, it wasn’t like it would automatically change now. 

“Marie,” Hero greeted. Her smile hadn’t faded since John and her had gotten together. Marie had noticed, even though no one had said anything about it.

“Hero,” Marie smiled, kissing her cheek before giving John a short nod. “John,” she said in a more monotone voice.

Hero noticed the slight tension. She saw John’s awkward shift away from her as Marie greeted him. But when she looked at John, he didn’t give any sign to him wanting to leave. 

“You two stay as long as you want, I’ll be upstairs. Lock up when you’re done okay sweets?”

Hero nodded in agreement and took the key from its place taped to the underside of the counter. She smiled deviously at John and opened up the show case of pastries, taking one of everything knowing that Marie wouldn’t mind. She had left Hero a sticky note on the key saying “Take anything you want”.

By the time Hero was done raiding the case, there were over ten dishes of baked goods on the table. Everything from strawberry-rhubarb crisp to tiramisu. Before sitting down, Hero poured John a cup of coffee and poured herself a mug of tea. 

“What time is it?” John asked, rubbing his eyes.

“It’s only 10:30, not even late. Thus, the coffee,” Hero smiled laying down the cup in front of him and then taking a sip of her own. 

“Thanks,” John muttered. 

“Which one is the lucky winner of: Who do we eat first?”

Hero waved her hands around and flashed the light of her phone rapidly.

“What are you doing?” John questioned, confused at his girlfriend’s antics.

“Dramatic effect,” she smiled wiggling her eyebrows. “I say we go for the strawberry shortcake or maybe-”

“Hero,” John interrupted, his voice sounding strained and raspy. 

She looked up confused. John shook his head as if to say ‘nevermind’.

“Nuh-uh,” Hero interjected. “You cannot interrupt me when I talk about dessert and then just deny wanting to. Come on, fess up.”

“We are you know, boyfriend, girlfriend right?” John asked gesturing between both of them.

“Yes, just because it’s a trial run doesn’t mean the labels don’t come with it.”

John nodded, picking up his fork and taking a bite into the cheesecake laying on the table.

 

“How is it already 11:00?” Hero asked stretching. They had finished almost all of the desserts and Hero and John had started to get tired from a sugar crash.

“Magic,” John deadpanned while finishing off the last of the tiramisu. “Ready for one last adventure?” he smiled. Hero held up one finger before taking all the plates easily in one hand and dumping them in the sink.

“Adventure is out there,” Hero smirked, hoping John would get the reference. She knew he did as soon as he saw his eyes light up at the end of her statement. 

Hero locked up and John grabbed her hand and pulled her towards his car. 

“Where the heck are we going?” Hero asked incredulously.

“The park,” John shrugged acting like it was nothing.

Hero nodded going along with it until she hit a realization. “The park is closed at nights,” she informed, trailing off at the end.

“Huh?” John asked sarcastically. “I have never noticed.”

Five minutes later, John parked. 

“Okay, now where are we?”

“Two blocks away from the park.”

“Why two blocks?”

“So we don’t get arrested. Obviously,” John smirked, amused at Hero’s scared face. 

“We are not getting arrested, right?” Hero asked. John didn’t respond just stared straight ahead at the road. “We’re not even driving smart guy.” Hero said smacking John on the back of his head. 

“Wow,” John deadpanned. “I didn’t notice, huh.”

Hero gave John a look but shrugged it off and got out of the car.

“Wait. Where are you going?”

“Come on,” Hero smiled. “Where is your sense of adventure, Mr. Let’s-go-break-into-the-park”

She got out of the car and ran into the night leaving almost no time for John to run after her. It took him a little before he actually got out and ran after her, following her into the park back to where they went bird-watching.

“It’s 12:00,” John whispered when he finally caught up to her.

“Well, in that case,” Hero smirked. “Good morning.”

They walked over to a nearby bench and sat down. Hero suddenly felt tired and instinctively nestled herself into John’s side, leaning her head onto his shoulder. 

“Morning, Hero,” John greeted before kissing her forehead lightly. “Hey, you’re still wearing my necklace.”

He expected a small nod against his shoulder or an agreement through a mumble. What he got was no response, as Hero had fallen asleep on his shoulder. Before doing anything else, John picked Hero up bridal style and carried her back out of the back just so they wouldn’t get caught.

When he arrived at Hero’s house no one was awake. Hero was still in her dress and he didn’t want to bother her moms and wake them up so he brought her to his house and laid her on his couch, putting some blankets over her to keep her warm. 

“Morning, John,” Ann muttered from behind him.

“Sorry, I tried not to wake you up,” John apologized.

“Don’t worry about it, I was already up anyway.”

A silence fell over them and John went back to helping Hero get comfortable.

“So this is what happens at midnight. And here I was thinking teenagers actually drink.”

John could tell her that she was being sarcastic but all he did was nod, too tired from the day and too happy from the events to really argue or rebut her last statement.

“Night, Ann,” John muttered as he walked upstairs.

She nodded but as soon as he walked by her she grabbed his arm and whispered “Don’t hurt her again” into his ear. He nodded back, knowing her would never do that again.


	28. Baking

“This is a terrible idea. God awful, really,” John groaned. He shook his head incredulously at Hero’s antics, watching as she skipped around the kitchen grabbing ingredients for this cake she was planning to bake with John.

“It’s not awful,” Hero argued. “I wanted something sweet and you didn’t want to go home, so this is what I call a compromise.”

John scoffed. “This is what I call a forced activity.”

Hero shook her head at John’s antics and ignored his last statement, instead focusing on measuring out the ingredients. 

“I’m bored,” John whined, draping his arm around Hero like ragdoll.

She easily shrugged him off and simply gave him a handful of chocolate before shoving him towards the living room.

“If you don’t want to help, then don’t bother me,” Hero pleaded, not really annoyed at John but more wondering what he would do in retaliation.

John sighed, suspecting that if he didn’t help Hero that he wouldn’t be in the vicinity of her for the next two weeks. So he turned around, ate the chocolate and went to help Hero in the kitchen. (He wouldn’t admit it to anyone but he secretly wanted to help Hero make this cake. Weirdly enough.)

“Fine,” John relented. “I’ll help. But only because I really want some cake now.”

“And not to help your amazing and wonderful girlfriend?” Hero asked, batting her eye lids.

“You’re not-”

“I am purely making fun of you,” Hero smiled. 

Rolling his eyes, John grabbed a spoon and scooped a part of the cookie dough while Hero was turned around.

“Oh my gosh,” Hero yelled exasperated. “Between you and Bea I am never ever letting either of you back into this kitchen.”

“What a shame,” John said monotone and quickly stole another spoonful.

“John!” Hero cried. Without thinking, she took a handful of flour and threw it at John, letting it fall and stain his black sweatshirt and jeans. 

For a moment, neither of them moved. Hero was threatening to burst out laughing and John was still standing in shock from the flour that had also gotten into his hair. She looked away for a second attempting to shield John from her laugh. He looked quickly around eyeing the flour and instantly lunged forward, grabbing the bag of flour and dumping it on Hero’s head.

“John. Freaking. Donaldson.”

Hero turned around her body rigid but her face full of smiles, letting John know what he did was completely fine.

“Yes, dear?” he asked, feigning innocence. 

“Oh, nothing,” Hero said quietly. She slowly picked up the two nearest eggs in her hands, hiding them behind her back as she turned back around. John seemed preoccupied with eating another spoonful of dough and Hero took the chance to smash the eggs on his head, smearing them in his hair.

“Okay, okay,” John smiled wiping the eggs out of his hair. “That was fair enough. But now, this means war.”

Hero smiled and they again they didn’t move until suddenly both of them darted behind either side of the counter, hiding behind mixing bowls. Hero donned one on her head and John used the other as a shield making sure that Hero wouldn’t throw anything messy his way.

“Go, make the first move,” Hero challenged. “I dare you.”

John smirked knowing Hero wouldn’t expect what he was going to do next. He happily stood up and quickly took the milk throwing the cup of it across the island toward her, hitting and staining her dress.

“Oh, now it’s on.”

In a matter of minutes, eggs were flying across the kitchen and flour was getting poured on each of them and the floor. Hero had created a mini catapult out of a plastic spoon and was flinging chocolate chips at John who was expertly deflecting them. Without notice, John was able to take Hero by surprise and take the whipped cream that was supposed to be on the cake and spray it at her, covering her face and hair and bowl-helmet. 

“Surrender,” John ordered keeping Hero from moving by pointing a spatula at her, with whipped cream at the end.

“Never,” Hero smiled as she wiped off the excess cream off her dress.

“You seem to be disarmed. Whatever shall you do,” John smiled knowing that she had no defense.

“No but I do have this,” Hero yelled running over to the untouched batter and holding it over the trash. “Surrender or I toss it. Everything in this bowl will be trash and we won’t be able to make another since we basically wasted all the materials and ingredients.”

John eyed her as if expecting that she wouldn’t do such a thing but she quickly caught on, taking her hands and dumping a quarter of the batter into the trash. 

“Fine,” he sighed. “I surrender. But I still win.”

“What are you talking about I-”

Quickly, John grabbed the bowl placed it on the counter and kissed Hero.

“See, I win,” John smirked.

“You taste like eggs,” Hero mumbled her face scrunched up in disgust from the taste.

“Well, you don’t taste much better. Flour and slightly sour milk is not a good combo,” John retorted.

Suddenly, they both broke out into laughter and Hero took two spoons from her apron, handing one to John and taking the bowl to eat the batter. They both sat down with their backs against the lower cabinet eating the batter, once in a while adding another cup of chocolates.

“Well,” Hero shrugged. “We tried.”

“A damn good effort,” John agreed, stuffing another spoonful into his mouth.

They sat there in silence. From time to time exchanging looks but mostly just eating the cake batter and sitting quietly.

“What happened here?” a voice called from the other side of the room.

John shot Hero a questioning look. 

“Leo,” she replied her voice a void of emotion. “Hi, Leo,” Hero greeted awkwardly standing up, attempting to pull John up as well. He didn’t budge so she easily pulled the bowl from his hands and held it high enough so he couldn’t reach.

“I’m not a cat, you know,” John replied.

“Then stand up,” Hero ordered finally able to pull him up.

“Hero, why is John Donaldson in our kitchen covered in eggs and flour?”

“We tried to make a cake.”

“Oh, obviously. Sorry for my incompetence,” Leo said condescendingly. 

“I should go,” John awkwardly stated, excusing himself. “See you later, bird.” John smiled, kissing Hero once more before leaving.

It left Hero and Leo standing in a messy kitchen, shifting from foot to foot, not knowing what to say next.

“Hero-” Leo attempted to talk.

“Don’t. I’m going to bed. I’ll clean up tomorrow.”

It was only 5:00 and Hero knew it but she didn’t really want to talk to Leo and instead just went to her room, and got her rotten milk clothes cleaned.


	29. Sigh

After John and Hero had gotten together, it was like everyone around them let out a huge breath they didn’t know they were holding. All the tension and mild awkwardness dissolved after they had become an item, much to their relief. Instead of the aftermath being full of despair and sadness, it was a just a sigh of relief. It was something that came as a surprise to both of them.

Even for weeks after, Hero was still wary of everything that happened. She expected that someone or something was just going to pop out of every corner just waiting to ruin her day. No one ever did.

It never failed to surprise John that he got looks. Well, he got looks before but it surprised him that the looks he got now were more positive and less judging. That’s what was more surprising. Still, if it meant that Hero was his and that he was hers, he couldn’t really complain.

So everything after was just a clean aftermath. No big arguments, no secrets, just happiness in its purest form.

A sigh of relief.

Both of them were content with the way things were now. Fridays were spent finishing up homework, however most of that time was wasted by Hero and John goofing off and annoying each other. Saturdays were used for doing the risks. Watching a movie they both expected to hate, or trying to beat the other in a baking competition that usually left the kitchen looking like a flour bomb went off was the usual activity. Sundays were just hanging out. No schedule, just doing whatever came to mind. It was during Sundays that they told stories about their week.

“I have a story,” John smiled, looking at Hero for her reaction.

“Shoot,” she responded leaning forward and putting her hands under her chin.

“So before I asked you out,” John started before getting interrupted. 

“We’re going back a month?” Hero asked smirking.

John rolling his eyes nodded before continuing. “Well, I was doing some scouting for Ann and I thought that this guy was saying that this bathtub was part of the Duke collection.”

“Bathtub fetish, much?” she teased.

“Shut up, I was going through this weird transitional phase,” he argued back.

“Oh yeah, no, that’s what I was going to say.”

“Why do I tell you these things?”

Hero smiled, victorious. “Because you love me,” she smirked. John just shrugged and kissed her on her head, knowing that she only annoyed him because she truly cared.

It was times like these that John loved. Times where Hero annoyed him but did it in a way that he could tell she loved him. And it made all the times that he thought, maybe she didn’t care, feel inferior. He hated to admit he sometimes did it too often. He would never tell her that.

Suddenly, life was just a sigh of relief. There wasn’t any pressure to be something that neither of them was. If one had a bad day, the other just brightened it and made it better. It was as simple as that. There were no complications or loopholes. There was just mutual understandings and unconditional love.


	30. Confession

They made up a game. It’s called confession. Basically, it’s truth or dare combined into one truth. The person whose turn it is tells the other a confession. Simple, really. Hero and John usually play this when they’re walking home or when they find themselves in a long car ride. Lately, they’ve been playing it during boring classes, passing notes to the other while simultaneously spilling their secrets.

It’s during a particularly repetitive assembly that Hero finds herself taking a pad of sticky notes and a chewed on pencil and writing her confession. The writing part doesn’t isn’t hard to do, it’s the passing that’s the challenge. Even when they’re sitting right next to each other, it’s still a hard task to complete. If they make it too obvious a teacher will catch them and read the note to the student body. If they show it off too much other people will read it.

Hero takes the chance anyway. She’s undeniably bored and the principal is droning on and on about statistics of…whatever he was talking about. 

John’s bored too. Hero can tell from the fazed look that has reached his face. She easily folds the paper and slips it into John’s hand that is conveniently open. The newfound weight in his hand gets his attention. He can immediately tell from the way Hero folded it that they had started a new game of confession.

I confess: I’ve always wanted to go to England.

The games always started off like this. A simple truth that snowballed into different and more personal truths was always what happened. It added to the charm. 

Smiling to himself, John wrote back his confession.

I confess: I’ve always wanted to take you to England (Well, ever since we became friends, that is)

He handed the post-it back to Hero, folded the exact same way as before. Slipping it back into her hand, he then turned his attention back to the principal. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Hero’s delicate hands unraveling the paper, a smile gracing her features as she read it. She tucked the paper into her boot quickly, making sure that the teachers who were walking around didn’t notice.

A minute or two later he got another note. 

I confess: I’d like to go to England with you

Before he could write her back, the teachers dismissed them all and Hero and John were left to their own devices. It was lunch time anyway and so Hero and John journeyed to their usual lunch table once again.

“So England, huh?” John brought up casually.

Hero smiled at the thought. Not just the fact that he offered but that he hadn’t shot her down and belittled her ideas. He never did belittle them, but it still surprised her that he didn’t.

“I don’t know. I just want to visit for a week or two. Live the life of Doctor Who, be a tourist, drink tea maybe even see Bea and Ben. I just think it’d be fun,” she shrugged, trying to downplay it. On the inside, she was completely ranting about how amazing and fabulous England must be. 

John didn’t miss a beat. “Don’t fake it, I know you want to visit England more than anywhere else.”

“Oh my gosh, thank you. Can I rant?” she asked, a skip in her step.

“Yup,” he smiled. 

“Okay, settle down,” Hero ordered as they reached their table. They took their normal spots across from each other. She started her spiel on England as soon as she unwrapped her lunch, continuing it for another ten minutes. 

Still, John listened intently, taking in Hero’s every word and thought. She talked so animatedly and passionately that he was just captivated. He didn’t even really have to try to be interested, he just was.

However, soon enough lunch was over and Hero and John were separated for the rest of the day, different classes making it impossible for either to see the other. It wasn’t long though until the day was over and Hero was packing up and opening her locker when a green post-it note, folded neatly into a square, floated out of her locked.

I confess: I love you and the way you talk about England.

They weren’t meeting up tonight. They had been slammed with piles and piles of homework and Hero suggested that they just spend extra time the next day. She had been slightly sad about it and now she guessed that John had noticed because of course he was the one who had slipped the confession into her locker. 

On John’s end, he thought it wasn’t that bad. Plus, his note had gotten the desired effect. It had made Hero smile, his favorite pastime.


	31. Bleurgh

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, we've reached the end. Thank you for those who have stayed with me from the start. Hello, to those who had just started today. Enjoy!

Epilogue

In two years, Hero Duke could finally consider England her home. She attended a university in London and lived in a small town about an hour away. The commute was lengthy but she didn’t mind it as long as she had a flat of her own. The best part was that she wasn’t far from Bea and Ben’s flat. That was a lie. The best part was that she was only minutes away from John’s flat in the same town.

Before moving, John and Hero had applied to multiple schools in both New Zealand and England. The deciding factor was made when they had visited England during the break before college. They had only visited a week to check up on Ben and Bea and see the surrounding area. Hero had fell in love with it almost instantly. John was willing to follow Hero anywhere. It was just a bonus that she picked his home country. 

At first it wasn’t easy. Hero was homesick many, many times. There had been days during school where she just wanted to curl up and ignore the world. There were many days where she had done just that. It was only with John’s help that she really got out of her funk although it did take her multiple months, close to a year. 

John had adapted quicker. He had lived in England for the first half of his life so being back wasn’t exactly a challenging task. It was harder to watch Hero cry over her home and wish she hadn’t left. Thank god, it had gone away after a year and didn’t move back. He would’ve moved back to New Zealand if she wanted.

“Good morning, bird,” John greeted Hero. 

They still lived in England, together but not in the same flat. It was the weekend and while Hero was off doing schoolwork in the living room, John had let himself in (she had given him a key when she first bought the place) and decided to make her breakfast.

“Oh, hey,” Hero responded, surprised at his visit. “Sorry, I think I forgot about you coming over.”

John shook his head at Hero’s response. She was always so focused on her schoolwork that it made him laugh occasionally. 

“I was trying to surprise you,” John smiled, kissing Hero’s forehead and heading to the kitchen to start breakfast. “You know, one day off wouldn’t kill your grade.”

“But who would want to take that risk?” Hero asked, stretching. She had been sitting in the same position for hours, working on essays and outlines and it was only ten in the morning.

“Every other person on Earth but you.”

Rolling her eyes, Hero forced herself to take and break and instead seated herself at the counter and watched John as he fluidly moved around the kitchen, prepping the food. 

Throughout the past two years, Hero and John had gone through some pretty tough moments. There were many fights, breakdowns, miscommunications and misunderstandings. However, there were many more happy moments. From jokes and movie nights to parties and concerts, John and Hero had made their life in England one to be envied.

Later in the day, Hero and John made the half and hour trip to Bea and Ben’s flat for dinner. It was a monthly event and all of them looked forward to it. It was a nice break from their somewhat stressful life. 

“What are you watching?” Hero asked cautiously as they approached Bea at her desk. 

“Our videos,” Bea smirked, her eyes still trained on the screen.

“So,” Hero smiled. “You and Ben’s videos?”

Bea nodded slightly, just enough for Hero to catch and register. “My favorite, number seventy-three.”

“Bleurgh? Why not, your songs?”

Bea turned around, knowing Hero was teasing her. “We do not speak of those songs. Ever.”

Hero raised her hands innocently. “Okay, okay. I get the message.”

Smiling, Bea closed the window and turned back to Hero. John had ventured to talk to Ben soon after Hero had started asking Bea questions.

“You know, you and John are just as sickeningly sweet.”

Hero scoffed. “No way. You guys are worse. You posted a video dedicated to be all cute and cuddly.”

“Uh-uh,” Bea argued. “You guys are just like that every single day in real life. It makes me want to vomit.”

“You only see us twelve times a year at least!” Hero screamed good-naturedly. She wasn’t really mad but she liked to argue with Bea nowadays.

Neither of them noticed John and Ben arrive to fetch them for dinner. They leaned against the doorway just watching their girlfriends banter and argue.

“We both are sickeningly cute,” John smiled interrupting their debate.

“Can we eat dinner now? I’m starving,” Ben whined knowing that his whining would automatically annoy Bea and make her agree.

Just like he predicted, Bea sighed. “Fine,” she mumbled and got up leading her cousin and her boyfriend to their dining room.

They made it halfway into dinner before bringing the subject up again. If anything, John and Ben expected them to just keep arguing right after they sat down.

“I mean you posted a video, advertising your cuteness,” Hero pointed out.

“No one even likes that episode anyway,” Bea shrugged

“Please,” Hero argued, biting another piece of chicken. “Bleurgh got more hits than any of the videos we ever made.”

That made Bea silent. John smirked slightly proud of his girlfriend of beating Bea. Ben just smiled amused that Bea didn’t have any better comebacks.

Sighing, Bea relented. “Fine, you win.”

In the end, Bea made up another argument and Hero had made another date with Bea in order to settle their debate once and for all. They switched topics soon after but Hero still loved every moment of dinner. She was around her favorite family member, her favorite person in the world and her honorary brother. Life couldn’t get better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a comment if you want some extra chapters from before I made this story! I probably will do it anyway.


End file.
